Francisca Rodriguez

As interest in the physiological impacts of indoor environments grows, increasing attention is oriented toward how lighting conditions shape gaze and internal states. While broader and more flexible gaze patterns have been linked to improved physiological regulation, particularly in clinical contexts, the specific influence of dynamic lighting conditions on gaze behaviour in everyday interior environments remains underexplored. As a result, design strategies often rely on static assumptions about visual engagement, overlooking the potential of dynamic stimuli to support well-being. This study presents a narrative review synthesising recent findings on how dynamic environmental stimuli, including lighting variation and visual saliency, mediate gaze behaviour and influence cognitive and emotional outcomes. The review integrates evidence from vision science, environmental psychology, and lighting research to highlight emerging relationships between dynamic conditions, attention, mood, and recovery. The findings aim to inform adaptive lighting strategies that enhance occupant well-being and attentional engagement in interior environments.

Study Objectives: Unfamiliar environments are often poorly conducive to quality sleep, especially for patients within health and aged care settings. This scoping review aims to map available evidence regarding the sleep environment in rehabilitation, subacute, and aged care settings. It examines how these factors are measured and seeks to identify any reported standard metrics, guidelines, or methodologies. Methods: Searches were conducted within PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and Web of Science from database inception to May 2023. Eligibility criteria included original studies of any design reporting on the measurement properties of care environment factors affecting the sleep of adult patients admitted to rehabilitation, subacute wards, and aged care facilities. Results: Seventy-four studies were reviewed that included 5055 participants, mostly (78.4%, 58/74) from aged care facilities. From 102 identified care environment factors, the spectral measurements of light were most reported (65.7%, 67/102), with methodologies varying from actigraphy and illuminance meters to pendant-style light monitors. Other environmental factors (sound, temperature, and air quality/humidity), room characteristics (mattress/bedding, room cohabitation), and hospital functioning (imposed schedules) were measured considerably less often and displayed similar variations in reported units and devices. Eighteen studies reported international, national, and methodological standards or guidelines. Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the care environment factors affecting sleep studied within rehabilitation, subacute, and aged care settings. Various units and devices were used in measuring these factors, and standard metrics and methodology were not consistently used. Future care environment studies incorporating interventions that employ standardized devices, units, and methodologies, will thereby enhance the reliability and comparability of findings within this field.

Lighting plays a crucial yet often overlooked role in shaping perceptions of safety, autonomy, and wellbeing, particularly for women navigating public, intermediate, and private spaces. While gender-sensitive lighting has gained attention in public contexts, lighting in intermediate and private environments remains underexplored despite its relevance to trauma recovery. This briefing paper examines how trauma-informed design principles can guide lighting across the architectural continuum. Integrating these principles lays a foundation for safer and more empowering and supportive environments through a gender-responsive lens.

Exposure to environmental changes in windows are essential to sustain healthy conditions indoors; however, there are no procedures for capturing these variations dynamically. In this study, we provide the foundations for building a framework aimed at understanding the effects of luminous variability in window views. First, we labelled a sample of views (n = 40) using a surface layout approach, resulting in four view type categories. Next, we captured time-lapse imagery from selected views (n = 8) to produce panorama sequences. We calculated the absolute lightness variation in Matlab, resulting in three luminous change categories (i.e. Global, Local, and Minimal variation). Concurrently, we collected environmental measures to define variability thresholds. The integrated analysis showed a higher occurrence of luminous changes in two categories in controlled conditions, suggesting that viewing configuration might prevail over window orientation for conveying light changes over time.