Table of contents:
- What is the impact if we sleep with the light on?
- 1. Increase the chances of getting cancer
- 2. Artificial light makes the body fat
- 3. Causes insomnia
- 4. Affect menstruation
- 5. Causes depression
Sleep is one of the activities that we must do and with the right time. Adults need 7-8 hours to sleep, while children and teenagers need approximately 10 hours. Skipping sleep is certainly not good for the body and can damage the digestive circulation system in the body. Not only that, lighting while you sleep will have a bad effect on health. So, how do you usually sleep? With the lights on or off?
The importance of sleeping without the slightest light has been studied by experts. According to Joyce Walsleben, PhD., A member of the faculty association at the New York University School of Medicine, even though we are asleep, light can still be detected by the eyelids and our brains will not produce melatonin. Walsleben also said that we need darkness in a room as dark as darkness that we can still face without tripping over something (still being able to detect the existence of things).
What is the impact if we sleep with the light on?
1. Increase the chances of getting cancer
Lighting at night is a significant risk factor for developing breast cancer, according to researchers who reviewed data from 1,679 women and published the results of their study in Chronobiology International. However, other scientists argue that any disruption to the circadian rhythm can trigger the release of stress hormones and this can increase cancer risk.
2. Artificial light makes the body fat
Our 24-hour body circulation controls several hormones such as ghrelin, insulin and serotonin which affect appetite, fat storage, andmood. Therefore, things that interfere with circulation can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression. In fact, doctors and scientists are also worried about the discovery of this case by the American Medical Association.
3. Causes insomnia
Some experts believe that turning on the lights at night can have a biological effect. A Harvard study found that late-night lighting from incandescent bulbs can reduce melatonin levels, making it difficult to fall asleep.
It's not just the lights above our heads that are harmful, but all levels of lighting that can be found in the home at night such as computer screens, televisions, and electronic tablets can suppress melatonin secretion.
In 2011, a study suggested that lighting generated by a computer screen 5 hours before bedtime could affect circadian rhythms by delaying the release of melatonin.
4. Affect menstruation
Research reports that rotationshift workers, resulting in increased lighting levels at night, and affect the menstrual cycle of female workers. The study involved 71,077 women who participated in the Nurse Health Study II. About one in five participants worked onshiftnight for at least 1 month in the 2 years prior to the study being held. More and more time shiftof work spent, the more irregular their menstrual cycles are.
5. Causes depression
Sleep disturbances are strongly associated with depression risk and depressive experiences. Research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry suggests that lighting at night, although dim and only equivalent to light sleep, can increase physiological changes such as those in rodents. In hamsters, low light at night triggers behaviors such as depression and changes in the brain. This can occur due to disrupted circadian rhythms as well as melatonin suppression, according to Tracy Bedrosian, a PhD candidate in the department of neuroscience at The Ohio State University on Columbus. The good news is that the symptoms will disappear when normal lighting conditions return.
