Can’t fall asleep without the comforting glow of your devices?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Cue record scratch GIF—sleeping with lights on is linked to diabetes and obesity! Why?
Ivy Mason and team from Northwestern University had ten participants sleep one night in near-darkness, and another in overhead lighting. They measured their sleep quality, melatonin levels, and heart rate during sleep.
Results? Sleep quality and melatonin aren’t affected much by lighting. BUT just one night of lighting increases heart rates during sleep. This raises insulin resistance the morning after!
The researchers believe this sympathetic nervous system activation increases risk of diabetes and obesity.
So lights out at bedtime! And put that phone away! After just one more doom scroll.
Reference: Mason, I. C., Grimaldi, D., Reid, K. J., Warlick, C. D., Malkani, R. G., Abbott, S. M., & Zee, P. C. (2022). Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(12). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113290119