Light can impact human health via the visual and non-visual systems originating in the retina of the eye or as optical radiation falling on eye or skin. This paper provides a summary of what is known about these impacts. Topics covered include aspects of lighting likely to cause eyestrain and headaches; increase the risk of falls; induce circadian disruption; enhance sleep; mitigate Alzheimer’s disease and depression; produce tissue damage; alleviate diseases through phototherapy and inactivate viruses through germicidal irradiation. It is concluded that human health is undoubtedly influenced by lighting, but there are four conditions that should be attached to such a simple assertion. First, the impact of lighting on human health can be either positive or negative. Second, human health is affected by many factors other than lighting. Third, the severity of the effects of light exposure can vary widely from the short-lived and trivial to the long-term and fatal. Fourth, the same lighting conditions can have very different health impacts for different individuals depending on their age and medical status. Taken together, these conditions imply that care is required when judging the veracity and relevance of broad assertions about the benefits of lighting for human health.

光线可以通过源自眼睛视网膜的视觉和非视觉系统，或者由于光辐射照射到眼睛或皮肤上，从而影响人类健康。本文提供了有关这些影响的已知信息的摘要。涵盖的主题包括可能引起眼睛疲劳和头痛的照明方面；增加跌倒的风险；引起昼夜节律紊乱；增强睡眠；减轻阿尔茨海默氏病和抑郁症；产生组织损伤；通过光疗减轻疾病，并通过杀菌辐照灭活病毒。结论是，人体健康无疑受到照明的影响，但这种简单的主张应附加四个条件。首先，照明对人体健康的影响可能是正面的，也可能是负面的。其次，除了照明以外，人类健康还受到许多其他因素的影响。第三，曝光影响的严重性可以从短暂的，微不足道的到长期的致命的变化很大。第四，相同的光照条件对不同个体的健康影响可能会很大，具体取决于他们的年龄和医疗状况。综上所述，这些条件意味着在判断有关照明对人类健康的益处的广泛主张的准确性和相关性时，需要格外小心。