A lighting system for initiating change in a mammal's circadian or well-being state includes a computational unit configured to receive state information regarding the mammal's circadian or well-being state, and operational information from a light sensor with spectral and luminosity sensitivity. The computational unit is configured to compare the operational information with the state information, and on the basis of this comparison, the computational unit outputs a control signal to a light control unit which, in turn, adjusts a controllable light source to vary its light output so as to initiate the desired change in the mammal's circadian or well-being state.