Aparna Patil-Daylight and Circadian Rhythm

Daylight and Circadian Rhythm - How Natural Light in Your Home or Workplace Can Boost Immunity

 January 01, 2025

Circadiam rhythm is defined as a natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours for all living beings by Wikipedia. Circadian rhythm is present in every cell of our body and brain and it anticipates and monitors our environment constantly. Humans experience the 24 hours of circadian rhythm and light and temperature play a pivotal role in this process. The moving dynamic natural daylight aligns us with our environment and regulates our circadian rhythm thus enabling the regulation of hormones and healthy metabolisms so that our heart beats and blood pressure is regulated. With proper exposure to daylight we sleep well thus boosting our immunity and nervous system. 

Discussion of the circadian rhythm for humans is unlike other living species because humans spend almost 90% of their daily time indoors enganged in various activities from work to play to rest. In the urban context this is a concern because not every artificially built space is conducive for healthy human activity. A space that is devoid of natural daylight and proper ventilation can cause sick building syndrome affecting overall wellbeing and biological health and therefore adversely affect human performance. A well lit ventilated space that is architecturally beautiful induces good health. Visual stimulation is the first perception offered by architecture and our eyes are the first part of the brain that come in contact with architecture affecting our sensation, cognition and behaviour.   

Hello, my name is Aparna Patil and I am the Principal-owner of Mansara Architecture in Virgina, USA. My company Mansara is well known for incorporating the ancient Universal Principles of Vedic Architecture in designs without compromising the modern lifestyle of 21st century. Our belief is that Space is divine and should be treated with great care and respect. We believe that when we enclose the Space within floors, walls and ceilings the resulting enclosed Space should not only be functional and beautiful, but also nourishing. We achieve this nourishment with ample daylight, natural ventilation and natural materials. Our signature style is open floor plans with strategically placed fenestrations to facilitate deep penetration of daylight in the interior of buildings throughout the day. We are easily able to accomplish this because we follow the design rules of Vedic Architecture. 

Ancient Vedic architecture was invented in India and believes in balancing the five elements of nature namely water, fire, earth, air and akaash in the built environment inorder to create balance in the lives of the people who live there. The foremost principle of Vedic Architecture is that the plan of a building 

should be laid out on the VaastuPurushMandala1 that cardinally aligns itself with the Earth's energy grid and secondly the functions inside the building must be placed within the vaastu-zones 2 that represent the five elements of nature that are generated due to this cardinal orientation. The vaastu zones are directional and they are as follows: Water element in the northeast, fire element in the southeast, earth element in the southwest, air element in the northwest and akaash3 in the center. 

Let us examine some of the Vedic design principles that facilitate the entry of optimal daylight inside the building or a house. 

1. A building is always cardinally oriented and the entrances are located on sectional modules of the VaastuPurushMandala that are most beneficial for the client. At Mansara we design large openings in the North wall because it allows the reflected daylight to enter the rooms. We know that in the northern hemisphere we never receive direct sunlight from north and therefore we can provide large openings in the north wall inorder to establish a connection with the outdoors. A visual connection with nature has shown to enhance positive mood and increase performance in the work environment.

2.  East is the direction of the rising sun and exposure to early morning sunlight is highly recommended for various health benefits. Humans when exposed to morning sun create a harmone called melatonin that is critical for sound sleep that reduces stress levels, strengthens immune system and regulates body weight. Vitamin D found in sunlight is vital for several critical bodily functions not to mention strong bones, regulation of insulin levels, cardiovascular health and a healthy nervous system. For instance at Mansara Architecture we always design a Kitchen in the south-east zone with cooktop on east wall facing east and the kitchen sink on south wall facing south. We always provide windows such that the kitchen is bathed in the morning sunlight. For instance the kitchen sink on the south wall will receive the slanting sunrays of the early morning sun, the direct sunrays of the overhead southern sun as well as the slanting sunrays of the setting sun. Not only does this layout expose people to sunlight as they work in the kitchen in the morning but it also connects them visually with the outdoors through the window openings.

3. Skylights in the center of the building allow the daylight to enter and penetrate the heart of the building and also allows the night view of the sky. On a full moon night it a great pleasure to observe the moon from your living room sofa and experience moonlight. Skylights on north sloping roofs also bring in plenty of daylight without the annoying glare. 

4. The south and west walls in a building allow for limited fenestration because the sunlight from this directions has infra-red radiations and is highly anti bacterial. It is however very beneficial to receive this light in the wet areas of a building such as toilets and bathrooms.  Thus, primarily the VaastuPurushMandala gives the Architect a very effective framework to create a functional building that is based on sacred geometric proportions. Secondly the Vaastu zones of the Mandala define the micro climate of each functions inside the building by placing it in such a way that it reaps maximum benefits of the Sun's energy. This dual role played by the Vaastu zones and the VaastuPurush Mandala create a building that is not only functional but also proportionally beautiful. In addition the Space inside of the building has a beautiful ambiance because of the ample natural daylight that becomes available as a result of following the sacred geometry of Vedic Architecture. The sacred geometry of Vedic Architecture has several other benefits and dicussions of those is beyond the scope of this article. 

Thus dynamic daylight exposure is a primary trigger for circadian system optimization that is extremely important for a sense of well being and overall health. A dark interior devoid of natural light creates a feeling of claustrophobia and lethargy. Daylight is a natural biological stimulant for altertness and sound sleep both of which are essential for optimal human performance. Daylight is like a drug that is needed to stimulate a positive biological and genetic response of well being and Vedic Architecture is the science of Space that automatically results in a functional building full of natural daylight. 

Footnotes:

1. The VaastuPurush Mandala is a deeply coded geometrical formula with layers of information that  when understood and implemented correctly allow the environment of a building to become climate friendly and  nourishing and is the basis of all Vedic designs and the template on which any and all physical designs can be laid out  right from a sprawling airport to a modest cottage. In ancient India VaastuPurushMandala was used for urban designs,  community centers, religious buildings, residences and everything is between. There are a total of ten directions that are  represented in a VaastuPurushMandala starting clock-wise from east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, north,  northeast, akaash and patal. Akaash is the direction above our head and patal is the direction below our feet. Thus out of  ten directions, the eight directions are shown in the mandala and the other two directions are always considered by the  designer even though they are not indicated on the mandala. The four elements of water, fire, earth and air occupy the  corner positions within the mandala and the central position is occupied by the fifth element of akaasha. The cardinal  directions of north, east, south and west each share two elements. The path of the Sun in our sky decides the element for  that particular zone. Thus in southeast we have the fire element, in southwest is the earth element, in northwest is the air  element and in the northeast is the water element. The VaastuPurushMandala also has an image of VaastuPurusha-the  divine being superimposed on it. The head of the VaastuPurusha is always in the northeast in the water element and his  feet are always in the southwest in the earth element. Each square module in the VaastuPurush mandala is called a pada.  There are a total of 81 padas in a nine by nine square mandala. In addition a VaastuPurush Mandala also has a ruling  celestial body and the guardian deity called lokpala for every direction and every zone. 

2. In a Vaastu-Purush-Mandala the four elements of Nature are distributed into four quadrants as follows:  Water in NE, Fire in SE, Earth in SW, Air in NW and Akaasha occupies the central position. These five divisions inside the  square of the VaastuPurushMandala are called Vaastu zones. Each of this Zone has a deity or lokpala and a planet  associated with it and they represent the characteristics of that particular zone. The different functions inside the building  are relegated to different Vaastu Zones and there are rules of do's and dont's for placement of the building functions.  Certain functions are allotted to certain zones so that maximum benefit can be taken of the Sunlight and the energies of that  particular direction. 

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