How many times have you fallen asleep with the lights, or even stayed up late to use your computer right before going to bed, or try to catch some latest TV series? A key factor in regulating sleep and your biological clocks is exposure to light or to darkness so falling asleep with lights on may not be the best thing for a good night's sleep. Exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the eye to parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions that play a role in making us feel sleepy or wide-awake. Having too much light, right before bedtime may prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. In fact, one study recently found that exposure to unnatural light cycles may have real consequences for our health including increased risk for depression. Regulating exposure to light is an effective way to keep circadian rhythms in check.
The connection between nighttime lighting, sleep disorders, and health risks is so strong that the American Medical Association recently issued a statement emphasizing the risk and calling for the development of nighttime lighting technologies that would not interfere with the body’s basic rhythms.
The World Health Organization already recognizes shift work as a risk factor for developing breast or prostate cancer, specifically because of the way in which light at night negatively affects all the body’s cycles, including sleep and wake cycles. If overcoming your fear of the dark isn’t reason enough to turn out the lights, consider the impact of sleep disorders and poor sleep on your health. You’re risking:
Depression.
Sleep disorders are strongly linked with the risk for depression and the experience of depression. Research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry shows that even dim lighting at night "the equivalent of a night-light" can increase physiological changes that lead to depression in rodents. “In hamsters, dim light at night provoked depression-like behaviours and changes in the brain.
This could be occurring through disrupted circadian rhythms or suppression of melatonin,” says researcher Tracy Bedrosian, a PhD candidate in the department of neuroscience at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The good news is that the symptoms reversed themselves when normal lighting conditions were restored.
Cancer.
Light at night (known to researchers as LAN) is a significant risk factor for developing breast cancer, according to researchers who reviewed data from 1,679 women and published their findings in Chronobiology International.
Obesity.
According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,even dim light at night may be reorganizing other physical rhythms, such as eating schedules. Researchers exposed mice to dim light at night over eight weeks and found that the mice gained more weight than those not experiencing nighttime lighting. And, say the researchers, at least in mice, this gain appeared to be due to disordered eating. In contrast, mice exposed to light at night, but with food limited to scheduled eating times, did not gain excess weight.
The connection between nighttime lighting, sleep disorders, and health risks is so strong that the American Medical Association recently issued a statement emphasizing the risk and calling for the development of nighttime lighting technologies that would not interfere with the body’s basic rhythms.
The World Health Organization already recognizes shift work as a risk factor for developing breast or prostate cancer, specifically because of the way in which light at night negatively affects all the body’s cycles, including sleep and wake cycles. If overcoming your fear of the dark isn’t reason enough to turn out the lights, consider the impact of sleep disorders and poor sleep on your health. You’re risking:
Depression.
Sleep disorders are strongly linked with the risk for depression and the experience of depression. Research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry shows that even dim lighting at night "the equivalent of a night-light" can increase physiological changes that lead to depression in rodents. “In hamsters, dim light at night provoked depression-like behaviours and changes in the brain.
This could be occurring through disrupted circadian rhythms or suppression of melatonin,” says researcher Tracy Bedrosian, a PhD candidate in the department of neuroscience at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The good news is that the symptoms reversed themselves when normal lighting conditions were restored.
Cancer.
Light at night (known to researchers as LAN) is a significant risk factor for developing breast cancer, according to researchers who reviewed data from 1,679 women and published their findings in Chronobiology International.
Obesity.
According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,even dim light at night may be reorganizing other physical rhythms, such as eating schedules. Researchers exposed mice to dim light at night over eight weeks and found that the mice gained more weight than those not experiencing nighttime lighting. And, say the researchers, at least in mice, this gain appeared to be due to disordered eating. In contrast, mice exposed to light at night, but with food limited to scheduled eating times, did not gain excess weight.
The Risk Attached To Sleeping With Light On
Reviewed by Ridwan
on
July 05, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Ridwan
on
July 05, 2018
Rating:
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