Does fluorescent bulb lighting cause fatigue? Is incandecent lighting preferrable for reading purposes?

Question

I'd heard (whether true or not) that fluorescent lighting, with it's intermitent flickering, causes your eyes to involuntarily adjust to the fluctuations of this light; thereby causing the eyes to work harder; thereby causing fatigue. Any truth?

Answer 1

The real reason why lighting fatigue is believed to occur is because of glare. People associate fatigue with fluorescents, and rightly so because fluorescents are typically more glarey than the softer incandescents. Fluorescents are now available in softer versions, but they are more expensive so people still buy the commodity grade version which is still glarey.

I disagree with eye fatigue due to flickering. When a fluorescent is operating properly, the flickering occurs at such a high frequency that it is indistinguishable to the eye. Only when there is a problem with the lamp starter or the ballast does low level flickering occur, which may cause eye problems.

Answer 2

Fluorescent Light Fatigue

Answer 3

Some people are very susceptible to the inherent flicker of fluorescent tubes. In certain cases, this can bring on an attack of epilepsy (which is why TV news programmes warn viewers if they are about to show flash photography). On a lower level, some people find fluorescent lighting tiring to the eyes, but the technology is improving. If you suffer from this problem, it may just be one lamp in your home causing the problem. Try replacing it and see what happens.

Answer 4

Old fluorescent bulbs flicker at 120 Hz. Newer bulbs use solid state switching circuits and the light flickers at about 50 kHz.

If the old style has a poor ballast, then it can flicker a few times per second. This can be irritating.

But at 120 Hz or above, I don't think that the human eye can detect any of it.

Answer 5

i think its true