Is artificial light stealing your health?
Over the last 3 months I have been asked to present at conferences and interviews on the topic of sleep optimisation more than any other area I teach. With increases in screen time over COVID-19 our natural light rhythms have been even more disrupted than usual. This disruption has caused a secondary pandemic of sleep problems, followed a wide range of health problems that we’re seeing as health professionals.
If you mess with your natural biology there will be a price to pay!
Our human ancestry has always lived in light and dark. As hunter/gatherers we tended to be outside in morning light and kept out of midday heat. At night our only exposure to light was through the mellow light of fire, moon and star light.
Fast forward to today and we are now exposed to fluorescent and LED lights throughout the day, and of more concern, during the night. Most adults now habitually use LED devices (computers, TVs, phones within one hour of going to bed. These lights at night don’t agree with our biology.
Bright lights at night reduce our sleep quantity, quality and mental performance. Children with TV screens in their room perform worse academically at every age group than those without a TV in their room. Bright lights at night mess up your hormones. See the video below to learn more about this. When people block blue light at night they tend to go to bed an hour earlier.
We’re also missing out on sunshine during the day and opting for sunglasses and artificially lit buildings. We know that sunshine increases your levels of vitamin D, which acts like a hormone to improve the health of every system of the body. It also increases nitric oxide levels in the body, which expands our blood vessels and helps us look after our blood pressure. Fat tissue also has light receptors. When exposed to light, fat cells shrink, store less fat, and produce less inflammation. Yep – sunbathing may help you lose fat. This makes sense from an evolutionary point of view. The winter months were the perfect time to store fat and keep warm in our caves.
How to maintain your light and dark rhythms in modern times:
- Dim your lighting at night
- Use orange/red light bulbs and candles at night
- Reduce your screen exposure at night – blue light blocking apps can also help
- Use blue blue light blocking glasses at night
- Get outside in the morning for 15 minutes before noon – no sunglasses
We may have cell phones and Netflix, but we’re humans. Respect your biology and sleep well ?
Dave