Effect of Correlated Color Temperature on Human Attention as a Measure of Power Spectral Density Using EEG

Cognitive functions, including thinking, reasoning, memory, problem-solving, decision-making, and attention, rely on human abilities. Attention plays a crucial role in cognitive functions, influencing memory, perception, and decision-making. Environmental factors can affect the level of human attention which has a positive impact on work ability. Among various physical factors in the work environment, correlated color temperature (CCT) can impact human attention levels. Electroencephalography (EEG) serves as a tool to assess the influence of lighting conditions on cognition. This study aims to investigate the effect of different CCTs (warm white, natural white, and cool white) on human attention during cognitive tasks using EEG. Power Spectral Density (PSD), a feature extraction method based on frequency analysis, is employed to measure the strength of EEG signal segments. The EEG and PSD data are processed using EEGLAB, a software tool available in the MATLAB toolbox. The study focuses on beta signals to display the attention of 12 participants (6 males and 6 females). The findings indicate that natural white CCT exhibits the highest log power at 43.46 µV2 in comparison to warm white and cool white CCT, suggesting that natural white light has the most significant effect on human attention. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.