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There are many factors that could contribute to depression among the aging including illness, loss of close family members, or financial problems. Unfortunately these are problems that are uncontrollable, but there are things that we can control that may provide a more agreeable environment for those living in nursing homes or retirement communities. Perhaps if we did more to accommodate the aging with an environment that is aesthetically pleasing and functional through color change, lighting, and spatial arrangement, the number of depression diagnoses would decrease among the elderly residing in retirement homes.
Designing lighting for the elderly requires special consideration and care from architects and lighting designers. As people age, they experience neural degeneration in the eye. Less light reaches the back of the eyes because the pupils decrease in size with age, and the lens inside the eye becomes thicker and scatters more light, causing objects and colors to appear less vivid. Older people also have reduced levels of retinal illuminance, such as having smaller pupils and less transparent crystalline lenses. Furthermore, as individual ages, he or she begins to lose retinal neurons, which not only compromises the ability to see but also to register a robust daily pattern of light-dark that is needed to maintain biological rhythms. The 24-hour light-dark cycle is the most important external stimulus for regulating the timing of the circadian system.
In addition to the aging eye, lighting designers need to consider the unique lifestyle needs of the elderly. Due to physical limitations, they may be deprived of natural sunlight. Many nursing homes and assisted living facilities have dim, constant light levels and light spectra. This can cause disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms, which can potentially lead to negative health effects.
Soft glowing lights create a pleasant atmosphere for those of us unaffected by vision deterioration, but for most of the residents, the low level of light can lead to a frustrating battle for clarity. Due to the normal aging process, the lens in our eye becomes less able to accommodate and focus on objects in dimly lit surroundings. This makes it more difficult to do everyday tasks like read the newspaper, watch television, or write a letter.
Using colors that the residents actually see might increase positive feelings towards the atmosphere and the home altogether. Drab colors seen by the aging in interiors might negatively affect their mental state. An effort should be made to decorate the interior in colors more suitable to the presbyopic eye, even though the combinations may not be as pleasing to the younger eye.
The loving care that they can get in a family environment contributes to their good health and emotional well being, but in a society, which is always going somewhere, there is no time for it to stop and cater to the needs of the elderly people. It is in such a context then that the aspect of senior housing crops up and Old age homes come into the picture. Although this is an aspect that has not been widely rampant in India, of late it has been coming in for a lot of attention. There are homes which house these senior citizens. Some of them are free and some of them are available on payment. Even destitute and persons with chronic diseases are cared for in some places.
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