Even dim lighting is not best for your sleep. Blue light is known to harm our circadian rhythm, so even a little bit of lighting still can contribute to the overall inflammation in the body.
EVEN DIM LIGHTING IS BAD AT NIGHT
“Dim lighting” sounds safe and friendly but it’s not the best, even while asleep. That’s to say nothing of bright light, of course. The best is to strive for total darkness, however impossible that may be.
One way or another, light always finds a way into your bedroom.
In hospitals, for example, the bright light is merciless. But the paradox is that it’s especially destructive, especially at night. Dim lighting, for them, would be a dream.
Scientists from West Virginia believe that the white light in hospitals leads to cell death in the brain and an increase in mortality among heart patients.
In an experiment on animals, cardiac arrest was simulated in order to imitate heart problems.
NOT JUST DIM LIGHTING
They divided the animals into three groups.
One slept in dim white lighting, another in dim red light, and the last group slept in total darkness.
Over the course of seven days, scientists measured the health of the animals’ brain cells.
You already know how this is going to end, so let’s cut the suspense.
White light at night causes cell death in the hippocampus, inflammation in the microglia, and an increase in overall mortality.
The effects happened after only one night! A reminder, though, that the experiment occurred under artificial conditions. You won’t die after just one night.
And in the groups that slept in red light or darkness, they did not enjoy such delights. If we extrapolate this for humans, it’s better to sleep in a darkroom than near a window, which allows in light from street lamps.
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So scientists asked themselves, “How does this play out in humans?”
A group of hospital patients spent four nights in a row wearing glasses with orange lenses, which are notorious for filtering out blue light. They give everything a pleasant sunset hue.
Another group was given glasses through which all white light passes, including the blue part of the spectrum.
What was going on in their hippocampus is hard to say, but the second group recorded an increase in inflammation!
The problem with white light really has to do with blue. Blue light is known to harm our circadian rhythm.
Nature, in her naivety, planned things out so we would see this kind of light when we wake up and throughout the day, but not at night. Humanity has made sure that we absorb blue light around the clock.
Computer screens and smartphones are highly associated with an increase in obesity, metabolic disorders, and even depression.
Hopefully, orange shades will become a part of regular hospital practice, and this white light will stop carrying patients off into the hereafter.
