Light Exposure Before Bed May Be Harmful To Our Health - A Health ...

Researchers have declared, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), that exposure to indoor lighting at night before we go to sleep may negatively impact our health. Specifically, this light exposure between dusk and bedtime suppresses our production of melatonin, which can impact our body?s physiological processes, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.

Melatonin is a hormone produced at night by the pineal gland in the brain. In addition to its role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, melatonin has been shown to lower blood pressure and body temperature and has also been explored as a treatment option for insomnia, hypertension and cancer.

Unfortunately, many people expose themselves to electric lighting before going to bed each and every day. In addition, many people work shift work or overnights where their light exposure is even greater. Reading, watching TV and many other activities commonly carried out before bed exposes us to light that may be harmful to our health since this exposure greatly effects our production of melatonin, which could affect our quality of sleep and the way our body regulates its temperature, blood pressure and glucose levels.

Researchers observed 116 healthy volunteer participants between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. For five consecutive days, these subjects were exposed to indoor lighting or dim light in the eight hours before bed. Melatonin levels were measured from blood samples every 30-60 minutes. Findings indicated that regular room lighting decreased the length of time that melatonin circulated in the blood by 90 minutes in comparison to those exposed to dim lighting. In addition, melatonin production was suppressed by more than 50% when exposure to regular indoor lighting took place during slumber.

?Given that chronic light suppression of melatonin has been hypothesized to increase relative risk for some types of cancer and that melatonin receptor genes have been linked to type 2 diabetes, our findings could have important health implications for shift workers who are exposed to indoor light at night over the course of many years,? said Gooley. ?Further research is still needed to both substantiate melatonin suppression as a significant risk factor for breast cancer and determine the mechanisms by which melatonin regulates glucose metabolism.?

Melatonin is said to be implicated in treating many health problems, such as?

• Circadian rhythm disorders
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
• Ischemic damage
• Learning, memory and Alzheimer?s
• Delirium
• ADHD
• Fertility
• Headaches
• Mood disorders
• Cancer
• Gallbladder stones
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Obesity

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Source: http://ahealthblog.net/health-tips/light-exposure-before-bed-may-be-harmful-to-our-health.html

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