SkyView is the first wellness table lamp of its kind, bringing BIOS Lighting’s revolutionary technology to the home or workplace via an elegant glass light fitting by Billings Jackson Design.
The BIOS SkyBlue circadian technology has been developed by a team of former NASA scientists. It harnesses the healing properties of natural light to bring the biological benefits indoors: strengthening circadian rhythm; increasing alertness and productivity; brightening mood; and supporting sound sleep.
The eye contains light sensitive cells that respond specifically to the sky-blue spectrum of daylight to keep it synchronized with the world. Regular indoor lighting is not bright enough to provide this signal for synchronization but is also not dark enough to promote sleep. The average person now spends more than 90% of their lives under electric lighting and so is increasingly affected by this circadian desynchrony, which can lead to severe health issues.
Cognitive impairments, such as ADHD and compromised learning, and even Alzheimer’s Disease, are directly linked to improper light exposure. Additionally, mood disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and Seasonal Affective Disorder are tied to artificial light and it has been shown to lead to increased risk of obesity, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease and addiction.
The obvious solution is to provide artificial lighting that better delineates day and night. This means creating built environments with biologically brighter days and darker nights. Effective circadian lighting design requires vertical illumination, which directly enters the eyes. But in lighting design, the main performance metric is the illumination of horizontal planes and the main concerns are energy efficiency and glare reduction.
This is where the SkyView Wellness Table Lamp comes in, as Billings Jackson worked with BIOS to develop a stand-alone product to deliver precisely the light levels required. This was achieved through the development of the color separation technology that allows for a warmer perception of a cool light, which is necessary to trigger the biological effect.
Its light is rich in circadian frequencies that stimulate the non-visual photosensitive cells in our retina, while providing comfortable neutral white light for our vision. Contained within a large, hand-blown glass diffuser, it can deliver large amounts of light directly to the eyes, while not causing any glare to the user. The light mixture is dynamically adjusted throughout the day to match the natural changes observed in daylight, even separating colors during dusk and dawn transitions.
The etched glass globe is supported by a stable, anodized aluminium base with a simple and intuitive one-touch control knob to adjust brightness and function. The globe connects to the stem with a custom bayonet mount that combines both power, data, and mechanical connection in one simple motion. The lamp can be controlled by an app that enables users to customize personal sunrise and sunset times and durations.
Low energy, low intensity natural light at eye level is key to comfort and body-clock alignment, and SkyView delivers this, producing the visual, emotional and biological effect of being outside at the flick of a switch.
