As healthcare facilities continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of facilities — HVAC systems in particular — in patient health is coming under more scrutiny than ever. A new research center now will take a closer look at the impact of hospital lighting on improving patient health.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has launched a new center for research into light’s impact on health, according to LEDs. The Mount Sinai Center for Light and Health Research in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy will expand on Mount Sinai’s research into light’s influence on mental and physical health, including burgeoning areas such as ultraviolet technology disinfection.

The clinical research conducted through the center will investigate how to use light to improve people’s lives by stabilizing their circadian rhythms, the natural internal clock that regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Researchers will study the way light, either from daylight or electric indoor light, affects circadian rhythms in various populations, including patients with COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and other illnesses. The goal is to help abate symptoms and improve their sleep, mental health and cognition.

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