Philips Healwell Medical Lighting Speeds Up Recovery

Philips introduces its research-based lighting concept designed to aid the recovery process of patients.

It may not be noticeable to some, but hospital lighting and decor can actually be a bit bland and depressing. As patients recovering in a hospital, we probably don't want to be reminded that we are in a hospital, as that can lead to plenty of negative thoughts and attitudes. This can be hard to do when most hospitals feature the same bright fluorescent lighting and plain white walls and floors.

Philips' research-backed "Healwell" system hopes to change all of that by bringing in an innovative new lighting system with enough atmospheric and accent lights to bring color back into hospital patients' lives. The system is a complete lighting rework that also includes overhead LED lighting designed to look like a skylight, a personal bedside reading light, and nightlights. All of the Healwell lighting systems can be implemented separately and retrofitted to existing hospital rooms.

According to the nine-month period of research conducted by Philips, Healwell proved to be successful in improving patients' sleep duration and quality, increasing patient moods and decreasing the amount of time required to fall asleep. This was all possible because Healwell is designed to support natural circadian rhythms while mimicking natural daylight cycles. Studies also showed that empowering the patients by allowing them to control the lights and set them to fit their moods resulted in decreased anxiety and depression survey scores.

The system is set to be officially released at the Arab Health 2012 conference in Dubai, taking place from January 23rd to January 26th. For more information on the lighting system and the conducted studies, check out the press release located here.