An office with natural light could help keep blood sugar under control

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-19 03:00

International

Photo by Alesia Kazantceva on Unsplash. Story by Rachel McDonald, Australian Science Media Centre

People with type 2 diabetes may find it easier to manage their blood sugar if they're working in an office filled with natural light, according to international research. The team says our tendency to stay indoors is considered a risk factor for metabolic diseases, as daylight plays an important role in keeping our body clocks ticking along. To investigate the difference in natural light and artificial office lighting, the researchers recruited 13 people with type 2 diabetes and had them spend office hours for a week in a room lit with large windows, and a different week in an artificially lit room. They say participants spent more time in the normal blood sugar range during their natural lighting week, and their metabolism relied more on burning fat during those days. The researchers say this could mean natural light plays a role in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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Journal/
conference: Cell Metabolism

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Maastricht University Medical Center, Netherlands

Funder: This study was supported by VELUX Stiftung (C.D. and J.H., project number 1471), grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation (310030-219187 to C.D. and PZ00P3-167826 and 32003B-212559 to T.-H.C.), the Vontobel Foundation (C.D. and T.-H.C.), the Olga Mayenfisch Foundation (C.D.), Ligue Pulmonaire Genevoise (C.D.), Swiss Cancer League (KFS-5266-02-2021-R; C.D.), the ISREC Foundation (C.D.), the Gertrude von Meissner Foundation (C.D.), the Swiss Life Jubila¨ umsstiftung Foundation (T.-H.C.), the Swiss Society of Endocrinology and Diabetes (T.-H.C. and N.E.P.), the Nutrition 2000plus Foundation and the Medical Board of the Geneva University Hospitals (T.-H.C.), the Hjelt Foundation (N.E.P.), and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of Northrhine Westphalia (PB22-062; J.-F.H.).

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