Completed PhD Tesis at LIPID

Modern life in predominantly indoor environments has profoundly altered the amount, spectral distribution, and pattern of light humans are daily exposed to. Given the various ways light can impact human health and wellbeing, it is crucial to understand how modern living and interactions with light can be better aligned with human biology. An integral tool for this research is personalised light measurement (light-dosimetry), which allows to provide an epidemiological assessment of daily personal light exposure across individuals and specific populations (e.g., based on occupation, culture, built environment typology), as well as a correlate of physiological and psychological responses and health outcomes. This paper-based doctoral thesis aims to further develop light-dosimetry and highlight its benefits, starting with a review of methodological considerations in light-dosimetry and metrics for quantifying and analysing the collected timeseries data. The thesis then introduces novel approaches for assessing the spatiotemporal dynamics and spectral distributions of personal light exposure, and discusses insights from intervention and observational field studies with regards to the potential of light-dosimetry to assess the impact of lighting conditions at workplaces and the built environment on personal light exposure, as well as the potential to link light exposure with physiological responses and health outcomes in populations such as shift-workers. Given that light-dosimetry as a research field is still in its infancy, this thesis constitutes an important contribution to advance light-dosimetry as a potent tool in lighting and public health research to integrate the biological benefits of light with modern living.

Accepted without reservation, the thesis will be presented to the public on January 21st, 2025 at 5.15pm room GC C3 30.