So far it seems pretty evenly mixed. Six have voted for red in one shade or another (with the most common being a darker red), five have voted to stay brunette because they prefer it while one shares my concern and says stay brown just so you don't screw your nicely behaving hair up. There's also two "go for red!" comments for the entry, but I don't know if they're duplicates or not. How interesting though. I never would have thought that many people would say to stick with the natural brown. Learn something new every day.
Well, was back in work today and despite the fact I made sure to get sleep, my head's not feeling 100%. I think I'm just getting ever more sensitive to fluorescent lighting. Four hours directly under four double sets of lights (might be six, think it's four) just seems more then my eyes can handle. Which really stinks. I don't know what I can do about it short of never being in an office. (not all that financially helpful) Companies refuse to understand the impact that the flicker has on people - and not just those hyper sensitive to it like myself. Studies have shown that everyone has negative health reactions to it ranging from eye strain, to headaches, to increase in stress levels. Despite the fact most people can't perceive the flicker (I can which is why I'm more sensitive to it them most), their eyes know it's there and are stuck trying to compensate continuously for the slight on-again-off again nature of the lights. And it's more dangerous then it seems on the surface.
Complaints about fluorescent lighting are not unusual. Some people find that they develop headaches or have problems concentrating in fluorescent light. Based on what I've read on the subject, these complaints may be linked to two aspects of the lighting: Fluorescent bulbs don't provide the full spectrum of natural light (and don't distribute the wavelengths as well as incandescent bulbs), and they flicker at rates that some people believe interfere with mental and nervous system function. source
* If your eyes are irritated by the glare from your office's overhead fluorescent lighting, turn it off, and try using a non-glare floor lamp and a desk lamp for light sources to illuminate your materials.
"Many of my patients report that working on computers with overhead fluorescent lighting feels harsh on their eyes," says Dr. Brisco. "There are full spectrum bulbs and non-glare light bulbs and all kinds of floor and desk lamps that can remedy this situation. Keep the light off your computer and on your papers. Full spectrum lights can make a big difference," she says. source
People with agoraphobia can be sensitive to light. Their heart rate is increased when fluorescent lighting flickers imperceptibly. Watts, F.N. and Wilkins, A.J. (1989). The role of provocative visual stimuli in agoraphobia. Psychological Medicine, 19, 875-885. / Hazell, J. and Wilkins A.J. (1990). A contribution of fluorescent lighting to agoraphobia. Psychological Medicine 20, 591-596.
Fluorescent lighting causes eye-strain and headaches. Wilkins, A.J., Nimmo-Smith, I.M., Slater, A. and Bedocs, L. (1989). Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eye-strain. Lighting Research and Technology, 21(1), 11-18.
With most fluorescent lamps the rapid imperceptible flicker is greatest for the blue and green components of white light. Rose-brown glasses therefore reduce the flicker. Wilkins, A.J. and Wilkinson P. (1991). A tint to reduce eye-strain from fluorescent lighting? Preliminary observations. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 11, 172-175.
The glasses may sometimes prevent headaches in people who use visual display terminals under fluorescent lighting and in children suffering from migraine. Good P.A., Taylor R.H. and Mortimer M.J. (1991). The use of tinted glasses in childhood migraine. Headache, 31, 533-536. source
Ballasts are an essential component of any fluorescent lighting system, providing a controlled current to the fluorescent tubes. In an office or industrial setting, the standard type of ballast used for the last few decades is an electro-magnetic type, which unfortunately produces a number of negative side-effects:
* They operate at 60Hz, or cycles per second - the frequency of the AC voltage they run on. This means that each lamp switches on and off 120 times per second, resulting in a barely perceptible flicker and a noticeable hum (sounding like a buzzing low ?A? note on a piano). About 25% of the population is sensitive to ballast flicker and hum and actually can become physically ill, with symptoms such as headaches, nausea, itching and burning eyes, tension, eye fatigue, and general fatigue.
* Operating at 60Hz, they may cause a stroboscopic effect with any machinery which has parts, such as pulleys or gears, running at speeds that are a multiple of 60Hz. The stroboscopic effect will cause the machine to appear motionless, which could be a deadly hazard.
* The most commonly used electro-magnetic ballast, the rapid-start type, draws 2-3 watts even if the lamp is switched off, a sizable expense in a building with many lamps. This ballast draws current even if the fluorescent tubes are removed.
* They give off excessive EMF (Electro-Magnetic Fields), considered a potential cancer-causing agent.
* Any of the electro-magnetic ballasts produced prior to 1978 contain PCB?s - a known carcinogen.
* Not energy-efficient, with a relatively short life span of about 10 years.
* During the final 30% of their lifespan they consume the same amount of energy, while producing far lower light levels.
source
Not to mention, they give off UV Radiation (more so then your computer monitor ever could in it's lifespan), contain toxic componants like mercury and museums and archival stores won't use them because they damage, fade and can corode paper. There's also been some evidence to show that it's causing skin cancer - malignant melanoma because of the UV radiation given off.
Anyway, I could go on, but you get the point. So I don't know what to do about the whole fluorescent problem. Because it's unlikely I can convince my temp job - or any future one - to address it in the serious health concern that it needs to be. Someone with a medical condition such as epilespy (of which, migraines are a related neurological condition!) would be accounted special concessions to ensure their health, so why am I not? Why am I forced to deal with something damaging to me? Hell, why is anyone? Just because I'm in the 25% of the popuation who's hyper sensitive to them doesn't mean everyone isn't being damanged by them. It's bullshit and I'm sick of it being brushed aside as if it were of no importance.
*sighs*
I need to run and pick up my Love from work. But I'm really at a loss over the whole damned lighting situation. I refuse to endanger my health and now that we've ruled pretty much everything else out, leaving only the lighting problem as my trigger, the question is what can I do about it?
~ flowers bloom near Memory and Dream
at 4/7/2004 04:36:52 PM ~
~
