Emergency lighting is only used in specific situations, but it is a very important component of a lighting system. Natural disasters and unnatural disasters usually caused large-scale power outage situation. In this emergency situation, the lack of light source brings great distress to the basic physiological needs of the affected people. The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) related lockdowns provided a good opportunity to obtain comprehensive datasets. Shanghai, China, implemented the strict prevention measures from March to May 2022 due to the outbroken of COVID-19. This study conducted a survey of people in home isolation, including home lighting environment, light exposure behaviour, mood, sleep quality, physical activity and isolation effects, to assess the impact of emergency lighting on human psychology and sleep. The results shown that depression and vigour were positively affected by bright-cool light. However, long-term use of bright white light also delays the sleep onset time during the COVID-related lockdown.