Stop Fluorescent & LED Light Headaches

Lighting Headaches: Overview

The lighting in your environment can put your eyes through visual stress every day, triggering or worsening migraines and other types of headaches. Make Great Lighthas the solutions you need.

According to the American Migraine Foundation, over 36 million Americans have migraines, more than the number with diabetes and asthma combined, and there is currently no cure. The organization also reports that migraines cost American businesses more than $29 billion a year in lost time and productivity.

If you find that you, your students, or your employees are experiencing tension headaches, cluster headaches, or migraines after spending time indoors, artificial lighting could be the culprit. Light itself can trigger headaches based on its brightness, intensity, the type of light, and especially if the light flickers.

It’s estimated that 80-90% of people who suffer from migraines also experience painful sensitivity to light – a symptom known as photophobia. This light sensitivity can produce a wide range of symptoms that go well beyond head pain and can linger for hours or even days following an episode.

Fluorescent lighting was once considered the most efficient way to light a building. For decades, however, this exposed workers, students, teachers, and others to conditions that could contribute to fluorescent light-induced headaches.

3 Types of Light-Induced Headaches

Tension Headaches

This is the most common type of headache, and it usually develops slowly. It causes mild to moderate pain in the head that people often describe as feeling like there is a tight band around their head. Stress, muscle tension, and environmental factors (such as lighting) are all considered to be tension headache triggers.

Migraine Headaches

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraine headaches affect 39 million American men, women, and children. These headaches are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, dizziness, and tingling or numbness in the face or extremities. Continued exposure to overly bright, harsh fluorescent lighting, powerful LED light, and bright computer screens are thought to be triggers.

Cluster Headaches 

Cluster headaches are less common than tension headaches or migraines but are typically more severe. Sufferers experience intense pain that develops suddenly behind one eye or one side of the head. Cluster headaches often last several hours and may recur throughout the day. 

Reduce Headache Triggers in the Office and Classroom

There are things you can do to reduce headache triggers at work or school and keep everyone healthy, happy, and productive. 

In addition to increasing access to natural light where possible, one solution is to replace fluorescent lights with LED lights that have warm color tones (5000K-5500K). However, LED lights also pose problems in the form of eye strain, migraines, and sleep disturbance.

The very best solution is to install NaturaLux™ light filters from Make Great Light. 

The many benefits include:

• Constructed with high-quality materials
• Very affordable 
• Compatible with fluorescent and LED lights 
• Installation can be managed by one person
• Can easily be cut to match your light size
• Designed to stand the test of time

Exposure to harsh artificial lighting in offices and classrooms can trigger headaches and migraines. Modify your lighting system by adding NaturaLux™ covers from Make Great Light. Visit our website to shop online, use our contact form, or give us a call at 612-399-6484 to learn more about our products.