The Best Light Bulbs For Replicating A Sun-Soaked Space Indoors

Nothing can uplift your mood quite like a perfectly sunny day. And, if you work indoors or live in a place where sunlight is sometimes scarce, those can be few and far between. But, the right indoor lighting can fill in some of those gaps. To make your space appear sun-soaked, purchase light bulbs that are bright and have just the right color spectrum to mimic the sun. Outside of the sun itself, these types of bulbs are your best bet at creating a lovely summery glow indoors.

Research supports sunlight's importance for regulating mood, in addition to improving cognitive function. However, your mood can suffer when you don't get enough sunshine. Some people even develop seasonal depression when the weather grows colder, in part due to the decrease in daylight. Indoor lights that replicate sunshine can help mitigate these effects. A sun-soaked aesthetic also just plain feels good — it makes a space feel more open, lively, and welcoming, which makes it more pleasant to spend time indoors. Fortunately, several companies offer bright, sunlight-replicating light bulbs. GE offers both all-purpose and flood lights in their Sun Filled LED line. Norb Everyday Sunlight Bulbs, available on Amazon, are designed to be used in every area of the home and promise to increase energy and productivity. But, the exact light bulbs that you choose will partially depend on whether the mood-boosting benefits or the aesthetic appeal is your main goal.

Sunlight has a few key differences from most indoor lighting: it's incredibly bright, and it contains light from the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including all visible light wavelengths. Your average LED bulb, in comparison, often contains more blue light than the rest of the spectrum. So when you're shopping for bulbs to brighten up a dark room, look for lights with a warmer tone and a high lumen output. Color temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale; higher numbers are cooler and lower are warmer. For daylight, look for light bulb colors between 5000K and 6500K to most closely mimic the sun.  

However, you may find that your new daylight bulbs are cooler and harsher-looking than expected. People tend to think of the sun as golden, but peak daylight is actually white. This is where you have to choose between aesthetics and accurately replicating the sun. 

If a warm-looking glow is your main goal rather than mimicking true daylight, you can make some tweaks to achieve that look. You can use a slightly warmer bulb or a smart bulb that can be changed to various temperatures like this option from The Home Depot. It also helps to complement cooler lighting with lots of greenery, wood, and reflective surfaces. This can help soften the light and mimic the appearance of sunlight in its natural setting, where it reflects off of the leaves, trees, and bodies of water. Similarly, experiment with combining a variety of light sources throughout the room, in different temperatures and with both direct and indirect lighting.