It’s hard to ignore the drumbeat from all corners telling us about the “Silver Tsunami” that is

looming. The number of persons aged 65 years or older is expected to increase from approximately 40 million in 2010 to an estimated 71 million in 2030, roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population. This older population's growth will impact many industries with particularly great demands placed on building design and healthcare.

Increasingly, people have considered the potential impact lighting canhave upon the aging population's health and quality of life.  The best lighting canimprove productivity, promote better health and increase safety. For facilities directors, this can have a direct impact on business profits. 

In the latest round of vision research, direct correlations are supported between the quality of illumination and a person’s quality of life. Proper lighting conditions can help increase personal independence. These intersect to influence a path to lighting design solutions that can respond to the aging eye’s requirements and the current efforts to include low vision requirements in our various building codes and recommended practices.

Vision, sleep and neuroscience research along with in-the-field design work over the past

decade has also shown direct correlations between the quantity and quality of illumination and a person’s health. Light has a modest benefit in improving some cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms of some kinds of dementia. Architectural lighting integration and applied new techniques will help designers and owners create excellent environments for aging. The problem is delivering both an aesthetically beautiful and utterly energy efficient and compliant projects. These are often at odds in terms of priority, as operating costs increase. Efficient, healthy and supportive environments should be as uncontroversial an aim of future health policy as best-possible nutrition.

Learning Objectives
·       Discuss some of the more common clinical problems we encounter as we age and what effect that has on our visual system
·       Learn how light affects vision as well as circadian and perceptual systems.
·       Discuss what can be done to counteract loss ofclarity and reduced sensitivity to blue colors.
·       Discover what lighting techniques could be incorporated into new facilities to effectively illuminate transit spaces and improve visibility for people with diminished visual acuity.
·       How to use technology to trim costs and improve quality of life in facilities for the elderly.