We’ve all bumped into things at home. But how often is the cause related to your eyesight? And how could home lighting improve the situation?

As we age and become more prone to sight deterioration, it is vital that we consider whether our home lighting is up to the requirements of our eyes. By the age of sixty, our eyes require three times the light to operate as effectively as they did at the age of twenty, with or without eye conditions.

Recent small-scale research as part of the on-going USA Falls in Glaucoma study has revealed that inadequate lighting is the single most common home hazard for glaucoma patients. In a home assessment of 174 participants, ambient lighting less than 300 lux (the SI unit of illuminance) was shown to be the primary hazard. “Those in need of a safer home environment are not making adaptations that could potentially reduce their likelihood of falling”, researchers wrote.

Sources:

1. Healio.com:
   Insufficient lighting most common home hazard for glaucoma patients..

2. fallsinglaucoma.org:
   Falls in glaucoma Study.