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Is a brighter room a calmer room? Morning light, sleep and what a 12-person study can support

Ask a Neuroscientist · posted October 30, 2026

The studies, records and images behind this post, each linked to the original. Where a slide shows a number card, the number is quoted from the study named on the card.

Education, not medical advice.

Research cited

  1. He M, Ru T, Li S, Li Y, Zhou G (2023), Shine light on sleep: morning bright light improves nocturnal sleep and next morning alertness among college students, Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724, doi 10.1111/jsr.13724 (abstract, PubMed 36058557; online Sept 4, 2022) doi.org
  2. Figueiro MG, Steverson B, Heerwagen J, Kampschroer K, Hunter CM, Gonzales K, Plitnick B, Rea MS (2017), The impact of daytime light exposures on sleep and mood in office workers, Sleep Health 3(3):204-215, doi 10.1016/j.sleh.2017.03.005 (abstract, PubMed 28526259) doi.org
  3. Boubekri M, Cheung IN, Reid KJ, Wang CH, Zee PC (2014), Impact of windows and daylight exposure on overall health and sleep quality of office workers: a case-control pilot study, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 10(6):603-611, doi 10.5664/jcsm.3780, PMC4031400 (full text, read Oct 17, 2026) doi.org

Images, slide by slide

Slide 1
Unknown maker, A Sunny Corner, 1850, 1888, SK-A-3060 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)A Sunny Corner, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (public domain)Museum or journal record
Slide 2
Unknown maker, [Lewis R. Thompson], 1 photoprint., B024537 (National Library of Medicine)National Library of Medicine, Digital Collections (public domain)Museum or journal record
Slide 3
Chart made for this post from He et al. (2023): light at eye level, 1,000 lux bright morning light versus 300 lux regular office lightHe et al. (2023), Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724, chart drawn for this postMuseum or journal record
Slide 4
Chart drawn to scale for this post from He et al. (2023): sleep efficiency 83.8% with bright morning light versus 80.4% with office light, and fragmentation index 15.3% versus 17.2%He et al. (2023), Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724, chart drawn for this postMuseum or journal record
Slide 5
Number card made for this post, citing He et al. (2023), Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724.The study
Slide 6
O'Halloran Thomas J. photographer, [Women, including African Americans, working at desks at a Social Security Administration office in Baltimore, Maryland] / TOH., 1 photograph : safety negative and film width 35mm (roll format), 1967, LC-U9-16858- 22/22A [P&P] (Library of Congress)O'Halloran, Thomas J., photographer, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (no known restrictions)Museum or journal record
Slide 7
Unknown maker, [Office of the U.S. Public Health Service, New Orleans, La.], 1 photographic print : 18 x 13 cm., A016057 (National Library of Medicine)National Library of Medicine, Digital Collections (public domain)Museum or journal record
Slide 8
Illustration made for this post from Boubekri et al. (2014), full text: 27 workers without windows had lower vitality scores and poorer sleep quality; 22 with windows had more light at work and 46 more minutes of sleep on work nights (wrist monitors, 21 of the 49)Boubekri et al. (2014), Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 10(6):603-611, illustration made for this postMuseum or journal record
Slide 9
Jean Alaux, Léon Pallière (1787 to 1820) in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome, Oil on canvas, 1817, 2019.141.1 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)Jean Alaux, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain)Museum or journal record
Story 1
Frank Millet, A Cosey Corner, Oil on canvas, 1884, 87.8.3 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)Frank Millet, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain)Museum or journal record
Story 2
Chart drawn to scale for this post from He et al. (2023), Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724: sleep efficiency of 83.8% with bright morning light versus 80.4% with regular office lightHe et al. (2023), Journal of Sleep Research 32(2):e13724, chart drawn for this postMuseum or journal record
Story 3
Barthélemy Cabirol, Room from a hotel in the Cours d'Albret, Bordeaux, Pine and painted and carved, ca. 1785, with later additions, 43.158.1 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)Barthélemy Cabirol, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain)Museum or journal record

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