Choosing Lighting & Visual Effects for a Sensory Room
Creating the perfect sensory room is a difficult (but easy to solve) task. You start with the room itself, or what resources you’d like inside, the size of the bubble tube, the colour of your safety padding – but what you might overlook is the room’s lighting…
Lighting plays one of the most important roles in shaping the mood, look and vibe of your sensory room. And choosing the right lighting for your sensory room can be the difference between a room that soothes and supports, and one that overwhelms.
Here are three reasons why we believe thoughtful lighting choices are essential for you to create the perfect sensory environment:
- Lighting Directly Affects Emotional Regulation
People with sensory processing differences (like autism, ADHD, and anxiety) can be particularly sensitive to light. White fluorescent lights, which are found in many schools and hospitals, can be overstimulating for many people and, in severe cases, can trigger a sensory overload.
- The Right Lighting Can Reduce Sensory Overload
As much as lighting can trigger a sensory overload, it can also be used to prevent one. Soft mood lighting, natural daylight, and dimmable visual effects can create a balanced sensory environment that feels both safe and soothing.
- Customisable Lighting Empowers Users and Encourages Self-Regulation
Letting individuals control the brightness, colour, and intensity of sensory room lights (e.g., fibre optics, bubble tubes, and projectors) gives them a sense of autonomy, empowering them to create a sensory experience tailored to their needs.
Different Types of Sensory Lighting
Sensory lighting comes in all shapes and sizes, from our groovy glowing UV Lighting to our more unique Light-Up Mood Shapes. To help you discover the best lighting for you, we’ve asked our sensory experts to walk you through all our lighting options, discussing the pros and cons and which environments each lighting type is best suited for.
Keep reading for the full rundown!
LED Wall Wash
Wall Wash is simply what it means. They’re LED lights, set in easy-to-install strips, that ‘wash’ walls in bright sensory colour.
Our Wall Wash lights are interactive – using a colour controller, you’ll be able to choose between 16 different mood lighting colours, including a simple white light.
They can be used in a wide range of sensory environments, from soft play rooms to match the colour of the padding, sensory rooms for a calming glow, or sensory bedrooms as a less-stimulating alternative to a main room light.
Pros:
- They’re kept up high out of the way, freeing up precious floor space.
- They’re interactive, making it easy for you to create a perfectly personalised sensory area.
- Easy and simple to install.
Cons:
- We can’t really think of any!
UV Lighting
UV Light causes white and fluorescent materials to glow, creating a magical, high-contrast and completely unique visual effect. Because of this, UV Lights are particularly effective in Dark Sensory Rooms, where the resources can glow brightly.
Highly contrasting visual effects (like UV-reactive products) are beneficial for people with visual disabilities and those who respond well to visual stimulation.
It all starts with one of our LED UV Light Panels – then the rest is up to you! Our sensory shop is filled with special glow-in-the-dark resources, from fibre optic waterfalls to groovy retro UV carpets, that react brilliantly under UV light. So take a look for yourself and get inspired!
Pros:
- They create high-contrast visual effects that encourage the development of visual tracking skills.
- Perfect type of light for creating otherworldly and immersive dark room environments.
- Bright, glowing resources are great for captivating wandering minds and effectively calming users.
Cons:
- Only really useful in Dark Rooms or hybrid Sensory Rooms.
- Requires fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark products for the full experience.
- The glowing lights may be overstimulating for certain users.
Solar Projectors
Solar Projectors are a sensory room favourite, and for good reason! They’re light, bright and easily customisable with our colourful range of sensory effect wheels.
They have a 2000 Lumen light output, an energy-saving bulb, and special LED technology that prevents the projector from overheating, keeping it safe to touch. The absence of a motor also removes any distracting humming noise, giving you the freedom to create a sensory environment that works best for you.
Solar Projectors are suitable for almost all of our sensory areas. We have the Solar 100 that’s better for smaller sensory spaces. The Solar 250 is suited for larger spaces. And the Hydro-Solar 250 projector that’s designed for use near Hydropools and Sensory Bathrooms!
Pros:
- Solar Projectors support over 200 different types of effect wheels, from adventurous themes, blooming flowers, stimulating liquid patterns and customisable magnetic effects – so you can project a view that best suits you.
- Bright and energy-saving!
- Can be mounted on a wall or ceiling in a sensory room or used as a portable sensory projector.
Cons:
- Not interactive (requires an adult to swap effect wheels safely).
- Can’t be used as a main room light.
- Building a collection of sensory effect wheels can be costly.
Fibre Optics
Fibre Optics are a true sensory favourite! They’re safe to touch, passively glow through a rainbow of sensory colours, and softly twinkle, creating a dreamy, all-in-one tactile-visual sensory effect.
Fibre Optics are known for their calming presence and are best suited for therapeutic sensory areas. However, their calming magic also works in classic sensory spaces and dark room environments.
Our Fibre Optics collection comes in all shapes and sizes. From classic fibre optic tails to waterfalls that shower you in twinkling light, and special groovy UV reactive fibre optics, too.
Pros:
- Safe to touch, easy to clean, and great for up close and tactile sensory play.
- Particularly therapeutic for people with PMLD.
- Comes in a wide range of options to suit sensory preferences/needs.
- With a colour controller, you can easily change the colour and intensity of the fibre optic glow.
Cons:
- Not suitable for active sensory environments (they need to be handled carefully and safely).
Light-Up Mood Shapes
Our Light Up Mood Shapes are the perfect mix of aesthetic mood lighting and practical room resources. They can be used as decorations, resources, or mood lights for your room.
Like giant-sized night lights, our mood shapes softly glow through a rainbow of colours, reflecting moods and providing relaxing visual stimulation. They can be used outside or inside, are rechargeable, and come in three fun shapes: Pyramid, Egg, and Cube.
Interactive, tactile and visually interesting, these lights are perfect for sensory bedrooms, waiting rooms, and calming sensory areas.
Pros:
- Perfect for calming, relaxation and exploring colour preferences and moods.
- Can be used outside and inside.
- Comes with a handy remote to interact and change the colours of the shapes.
- Rechargeable and portable.
Cons:
- Although they’re portable, the shapes require floor space and could become a potential hazard in more active sensory environments.
- They’re not really suitable as a primary light source in sensory environments.
Looking to start your own Sensory Room project?
Lighting might only be one part of the journey, but our sensory experts are always on hand to help you craft your perfect sensory room. From the very first discovery calls, to site visits, 3D designs, ordering, delivery, installation and aftercare – we’re here to help!
Fill out our contact form to get started on your sensory journey today.
