Reactions to Light

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I have strong reactions to light. The first is emotional: I simply don't like bright light, indoors or out. I feel exposed and unsafe and I have to get under cover. This applies to nighttime security lighting as well and on some windows I have to have blinds + drapes to completely shut out my neighbor's glare bombs. Otherwise I feel like the "evil eye" is staring through my windows.

Second, I have a physical reaction to light: close or repetitive eyework under bright light causes redness, itchiness and eventually headaches and pain around the eye socket. I am forever changing work spaces, reading lamps and glasses tinting and prescriptions.

Finally, light is a special interest. If I have to have a dimly lighted environment, at least it should be interesting, so I collect novelty lamps, light strings and colored bulbs. I save the plain white light for visitors.

How does light affect you?

I'm EXTREMELY sensitive to light. I have frequent severe headaches anyway, and bright light makes them worse.

I'm not a fan of florescent lights. In this one smaller area of work I let them all burn out except for one single bulb and keep it that way. And at work in the morning when more lights are still off I feel calmer. I wish it could stay that way.

I like sunglasses and have worn them on cloudy drizzling days. I think I can feel somewhat aggravated by bright sun sometimes. I don't like silver clouds very much because it bothers my eyes.

I feel like I could have conversations better in very dim light or even almost darkness.

My aversions and reactions are not as strong as yours, but I like light to never be more than "just enough" for whatever is going on ... and I have always worn dark glasses and tried to only be in the shade while outside on bright days. Some of the worst reactions I have ever had began a couple of years ago when regular bulbs in traffic signals began being switched to LEDs. I eventually learned to notice those signal lights without looking at them directly. Otherwise, they are physically painful and especially at night.

I have a strong aversion to bright lights. The only light that I want on, is my floor lamp. There are nights that I don't use my floor lamp. I turn my novelty lights on, instead.

Bright light gives me an almost instantaneous headache, though the headaches generally subside as soon as I leave the light. When watching tv, I have to have other lights sources on to even out the brightness, just the tv on is too much.

Fortunately, I live in the Pacific NW, the sun doesn't show itself too often. Overcast weather is quite nice.

Yes direct daylight does bother me so i wear a hat and more recently sun glass. There is a group that is trying to get humans to use night safe lighting. Here is link for a printout about how to ask a neibor to stop light trepassing on your windows.
http://docs.darksky.org/PG/PG3-residential-lighting.pdf
And here is their web site http://www.darksky.org

I hate light, especially natural mixed with fake.
NTs love to turn on the full light all day long, even at noon, even during the slide show, and I get nausea. When I wear sunglasses, teachers offend. After lessons I'm always overloaded and exhausted.

If I am in a dark room durring the day and light shines through half closed blinds I will get sick to my stomach and extremely dizzy. When I walk into my bathroom durring the day I have to close my eyes as I turn on the light switch because of the blinds in the bathroom. When I was in the ICU for my congested heart failure I would have to tell the nurses to leave the blinds up so I will not puke in the morning. They never believed me they thought I was just being a prick. Also I when I was in school and we watched a film strip or a film the teachers would have to make sure the blinds were completely closed otherwise I would be staggering around like a little drunk kid.

Flashing lights are my Kryptonite. I can't stand fluorescent lighting and TV/computer/ mobile phone screens give me headaches. Even standing outside in daylight without my glasses causes me pain. Or being in a well lit room. The light in my bedroom for some strange reason starts off dim then brightens, and I like this. It gives me time to adjust. When I'm in bed and the TV from the next room flickers on my curtain I have to hide under the covers to not feel overwhelmed and to get to sleep.
That said I love lights. I collect laser pointers, UV light torches, other coloured lights, etc. I have accidently shone each one in my eye. I also have a fascination with the nature of light and could probably talk for hours about why I love theatre lighting verses the lighting they use most often for rock shows.

I'm pretty sensitive to light. Now the evenings are long it's a nightmare going out as car headlights totally blind me - I've nearly crashed into a cyclists twice now on the pavement as I just don't see them coming.

I also find sometimes that my eyes water constantly and get very red on really sunny days so that it looks like I'm crying, which can be quite embarrassing.

Yes I am sensitive to light. What bothers me most is the seasonal change in sunlight (hours and intensity). But I cannot stand artificial lights either.

My reactions are more about energy. Too much light will make me more energetic and too little light makes me drowsy.

The electromagnetic spectrum has become a special interest now. I think its amazing that visible light is only one tiny section of this spectrum. The rest we don't see at all.

Writing stills from my Movie -

The only lights that bother me are sunlight generally and any light after I just woke up. My whole morning routine is from awaking to getting in the car done in darkness. Fluorescent are fine for me.

Seems like most aspies are bothered more by fluorescent lights than the sun. Anyone else bothered more by the sun?

Oh, I also don't like CRT computer monitors set to 60 Hz. Don't know if that counts as "light" or not, but it's super annoying.

To a point.

I can't really stand looking directly into the light, no. Not that anything really happens - I'm pretty much immune to sensory overload - it's just really, really irritating.

And this is coming from someone who once stared directly into the sun, without any protection, no sunglasses, no nothing, for 10 minutes, and still has 99.99% of his vision.

I'm very, very sensitive to light. I used to do a lot of theater, so this was a big deal-- spot lights caused me a lot of stress, and I didn't know what was going on. Photographic flashes are the worst-- they can give me migraine headaches.