Low Lighting in Your Bedroom

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How Light Can Affect Sleep

Do you fall asleep with the lights on?

“Sleep is a form of self-care.”

Lots of people are guilty of falling asleep with the light turned on. These sources may include TV, phones, and other smart devices as well. 

Research shows that too much light interference can affect healthy sleep, thus causing disorders and nightmares. It can also lead to weight gain, depression, and cancer. 

Light is one of the most critical factors that can trigger wakefulness in an individual. The eyes contain light-sensitive cells that sense and send information to the brain. This signal triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which in turn inhibits the melatonin or the sleeping hormone. The result being the individual will most likely wake up. 

The American Medical Association urges the risk of associated light disorders and urges the community to build and develop nighttime technologies that would not interfere with the body’s sleeping cycle.

Additionally, the World Health Organization also notes that light affects sleep negatively and can cause breast or prostate cancer.

Light stimulated diseases and conditions:

Depression- research shows that even dim light can cause depression due to disrupted sleeping cycles and inhibition of melatonin or sleeping hormone. 

Cancer- Some research may demonstrate that light during sleeping can increase the chances of breast and prostate cancer.

Reproductive capability- increased light exposure at night causes late menstrual cycles for women and affect fertility overtime.

Obesity- having light during sleeping can confuse the brain, thus affecting physiological processes like digestion. This concern is called disordered eating. 

FURTHER READING

https://sleep.mysplus.com/library/category2/article1.html

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side

https://www.everydayhealth.com/sleep/too-much-light-ruining-not-just-your-sleep-but-your-health-too.aspx