Can a 400 watt halogen grow light over your head for about 10 hours a day cause any real damage?
I ask because my dad installed one of these beast grow lights in his office because it has no windows. I know there are desk lamps out there that simulate the sun but this light bulb is about 1ft long and the light fills up the whole room, it’s ridiculous! Basically should we be concerned?
Hydroponics is easy to set up when you’re a hobbyist, but if you have aspirations of becoming a master grower, you owe it to yourself to read the best hydroponics newsletter on the web.To become a member of an ever growing group of growers who strive to take their indoor garden to the next level, join Growers Underground.
a full-spectrum bulb, like a growlight, is great for those of us who suffer in winter from SAD… seasonal affective disorder….. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder we are so sensitive to the lack of sunlight in winter that it causes real depression in some of us….. with the lights, we feel better, have a better outlook, feel invigorated, and are better able to do our work….. in your dad’s case, having no windows SUKS!… he’s done a really good thing for himself!!…. my kid has the SAD and she uses a reading light that gives her the same effect your dad’s light does for him….. you should only be concerned if the light bulb stops working and he comes home in a blue funk!…. in that case, get him another bulb, quick!…. why call something ‘ridiculous’ that you really don’t understand?….look up ‘circadian rythms’….. http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm with no windows, your dad’s body doesn’t know if it’s day or night when he’s stuck in there all day…. and especially if he leaves early for work…. when it’s still dark…. and doesn’t get home till the sun’s gone down…. quite reasonable in winter after the time change!…. the man is brilliant…
January 7th, 2010 at 5:53 am
No. UVA/UVB rays are actually essential to your bodies ability to produce vitamin D. You really need to be out in the sun everyday, but I’m sure a UVA/UVB bulb would have the same results. In fact, I read a few months ago in one of my health magazines about how people are having all sorts of health problems from avoiding sun exposure and becoming deficient in vitamin D (I would cite it so you could look up the article, but I can’t remember which magazine). Most foods do not contain vitamin D, and even if your eating ones fortified with it or taking a supplement, you are still not receiving the full benefits of your own body producing it naturally from the sun.
Plus, just my personal opinion, I don’t think being in the sun gives people skin cancer (which is what I’m assuming your worried about). People worked out in the sun all day for thousands of years, without developing increased rates of skin cancer, in fact they were much healthier then. And while everyone talks about the hole in the ozone layer, the ozone layer is intact except for a hole above Antartica. If you look at it statistically, the increase in skin cancer has gone up along with the amount of chemical filled goop (sunscreen and lotions) that we are putting on our skin, not to mention the toxic chemicals in a lot of processed food that our bodies try to eliminate through our skin and pollution in the air that we are exposed to everywhere.
I would thank your dad, and then do some research on vitamin D deficiency and take a look at skin cancer statistics, then compare them with statistics on sunscreen use, they increase together.
References :
January 7th, 2010 at 6:07 am
a full-spectrum bulb, like a growlight, is great for those of us who suffer in winter from SAD… seasonal affective disorder…..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
we are so sensitive to the lack of sunlight in winter that it causes real depression in some of us….. with the lights, we feel better, have a better outlook, feel invigorated, and are better able to do our work….. in your dad’s case, having no windows SUKS!… he’s done a really good thing for himself!!…. my kid has the SAD and she uses a reading light that gives her the same effect your dad’s light does for him….. you should only be concerned if the light bulb stops working and he comes home in a blue funk!…. in that case, get him another bulb, quick!….
why call something ‘ridiculous’ that you really don’t understand?….look up ‘circadian rythms’…..
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm
with no windows, your dad’s body doesn’t know if it’s day or night when he’s stuck in there all day…. and especially if he leaves early for work…. when it’s still dark…. and doesn’t get home till the sun’s gone down…. quite reasonable in winter after the time change!….
the man is brilliant…
References :
January 11th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for the great blog post. I can see your a good blogger! We will add this story to our blog via our IT guy at http://www.hydroponicswholesale.com/blog, as we have a audience in las vegas that will read your article.Thanks Jeff hydroponic nutrients for herbs.