UVB added in classroom reduced cavities, increased height, increased academics. etc

Effects of school lighting on physical development and performance

Highlights of fascinating 1995 study

• 1 year Experiment in Canada, 12 year old children

• 4 different kinds of overhead lighting – including 2 which had a small amount of UVB

• The UVB added per child for the entire day was = 10 minutes of noontime summer sun at that latitude

• Results for UVB vs other groups:

  • 1 / 5 the # of cavities
  • better attendance
  • grew taller
  • gained more weight (a good thing at that point in life)
  • lowest increase in body fat
  • had better test scores at the end of the year

  📄 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

  The academic publication has far less detail

Hathaway WE. Effects of School Lighting on Physical Development and School Performance.

The Journal of Educational Research Vol. 88, No. 4, Mar. – Apr., 1995

Here is a summary table from the PDF

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Comment by Vitamin D Life

This was not a random controlled trial, but fascinating anyway

Expect that UVB can be added safely to office/classroom at very low cost

Need to calculate how much equivalent vitamin D this UVB produces - suspect it is in the range of 200-500 IU per child

Hardly any "full spectrum" bulbs emit UVB

Daylighting does not contain UVB - it works on getting full VISIBLE spectrum without 120Hz oscillations

See also Vitamin D Life

• Vitamin D from low cost UVB lamps
  • Adding a few of these lamps to existing classroom or office lighting might do the job for < $500.

• Dental caries cut in half by vitamin D, review of 24 old clinical trials – Nov 2012

• All items in category Dental and Vitamin D items

• All items in category UV and vitamin D items

• Hypothesis: Periodontal disease is related to vitamin D – 2010 Dr. Grant

• Vitamin D history back to Egyptians and fortification - Aug 2011

  • Herodotus noticed Egyptians with bare heads had much stronger skulls than Persians

• More sunshine: more teeth (1862), fewer cavities (1934) – Oct 2011

• Top UK soccer coach installed vitamin D booths in his club – Dec 2012

• Interview concerning UVA, UVB, and health – Grant Dec 2012

• Vitamin D from phototherapy lamps, tanning beds, and the sun – Jan 2012

• UK Day-Cares being offered grants to develop vitamin D methods – July 2012

• Vitamin D from UV LEDs – US patent application – Oct 2019

  Intervention AND Dental

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Newer research

150 citations of this study as of Dec 2023

• Effects of Full-Spectrum Lighting on Use of Classroom Library Center by Preschool Children: 1995? 2000? Oklahoma Thesis: attached at bottom of this page

• A Literature Review of the Effects of Natural Light on Building Occupants NREL 2002: attached at bottom of this page

• Children of Elementary School Age – A Case of Daylight Robbery by Hathaway in 2009

  • Includes nice executive summary - by Warren E. Hathaway, John A. Hargreaves, Gordon W. Thompson, Dennis Novitsky

• Full-spectrum fluorescent lighting: a review of its effects on physiology and health Review in Canada 2001 attached at bottom of this page

• Daylighting in Schools: Improving Student Performance and Health at a Price Schools Can Afford. - 2000, FREE PDF

Short url for this page = http://is.gd/uvb_room