1. Light for sight!
Appropriate lighting increases safety, independence and quality of life for older people
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2. Recognising who has poor vision.
What might be clues from a person’s behaviour that could
suggest they have poor vision?
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3. Symptoms and behaviours indicating poor vision include:
Giving up hobbies or activities
Not eating or preparing food
Not focussing on a person or task
Not going out, or losing confidence to do so
Changes in the home: less clean and tidy
Not recognising people
Appearing distracted or confused
Wearing clothes that don’t match or clashing colours
Problems with mobility may be caused/exacerbated by sight loss
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4. 2 million people have serious sight loss in the UK
As we age, our eyes don’t work so well and we are at increased risk of age related eye conditions
In the UK nearly 15 million people are aged over 60 and they need on average three times as much light to see the same detail as a twenty year old
2 million people have serious sight loss in the UK
At least 11 million more have some sight loss that affects their daily life
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5. Most people with serious sight loss have some vision:
appropriate lighting can help them make the most of their vision
What links this topic to best OT practice?
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6. Different eye conditions have different effects on vision:
loss of peripheral vision
loss of central vision
(Glaucoma)
(Age-related Macular Degeneration)
patches of vision
normal vision
fuzzy images
(Diabetic Retinopathy)
(Cataract)
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7. Daylight and furniture
Make the most of daylight, but control glare
Position furniture, control curtains!
Light colours reflect light
Contrasting the tone and shade of colours makes different objects clearer
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8. Glare free: shaded lamps
Good lighting
Glare free: shaded lamps
Even light levels: no dark corners, or big changes between rooms
High lighting levels: living rooms are usually lit at only 1/10th of the level in most offices
Flexible: dimmer switches, portable lights
Directed: on tasks and offer general light
Our eyes need time to adjust to changed levels of light and older eyes don’t adjust as fast as younger eyes. Even levels of lighting in a home make it easier to move around confidently.
Ceiling lighting on tracks, independent switching for more than one ceiling light, lots of sockets for plug in lights, dimmer switches: all these steps make it easy to change lighting levels and focus.
General lighting usually includes ceiling and wall lights. Task lights include kitchen lighting under cupboards and over hobs, desk or table lamps, floor standing lights beside chairs, lights inside cupboards. For every task that an older person does, a task lamp may be helpful: to check medicines, to make a sandwich, to read a newspaper, to shave or to apply makeup, to find matching colours in clothes.
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9. Tungsten: largely phased out
Lamps, bulbs, lights
Tungsten: largely phased out
Halogen: less energy use than tungsten, mains or low voltage (hot, expensive)
Fluorescent: ‘energy saving’, varied shapes and sizes, give an even light in different shades of white (older models are less effective than new ones)
LED: rapidly improving light levels in different shades of white (very low energy, long life but expensive to buy)
Technical information about different lamps, bulbs and lights is available in further resources.
Brighter and whiter light can maximize vision, but some eye conditions do better with a softer light. Everyone likes to have the opportunity to vary their lighting in response to needs and circumstances.
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10. What problems might you encounter when attempting to change the lighting in someone’s home? How might you overcome these problems?
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11. There’s much more information on lighting available from
The Thomas Pocklington Trust
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