Beware Of Light Pollution
Light pollution is any artificial light source that trespasses into the darkness of nighttime.
The cycle of sunrise and sunset provided mankind with a reliable time cue for many millions of years, until the advent of electrical lighting disrupted our circadian rhythms.
It has been theorized that light pollution results in the suppression of melatonin. The exposure of people to light at night may be one reason for the higher rates of breast and colorectal cancers in the developed world. Kid you NOT, but light pollution has been indicated by published research as a contributor to your overall risk of cancer.
The more urban an environment you live in, the more likely you are to experience the ill health effects of light pollution. Accordingly, rural areas with minor amounts of light pollution are better for your long term health than urban environments are, because they allow you to be awaken by the light of dawn emerging through your windows.
The more insane elements of our society in urban areas are constantly pushing for a 24x7 lifestyle. These people reason that any sleep and darkness is just a huge waste of time, rather than a period of restful restorative sleep that is provided to everyone by Mother Nature. Those who succumb to it will live out a nightmarish existence of poor sleep, and awake states that are characterized by constantly dozing off, 24x7. In other words, you will be unable to sleep when you are supposed to be sleeping. Worst than that, you will be unable to stay awake, when you are supposed to be working and enjoying your life.
Light Pollution
Melatonin & Breast Cancer
The long-term health effects of this insane lifestyle are nothing to laugh at. All you have to do is look at people like Michael Jackson and the extremes that he went through in order to get to sleep.
No matter how you may desire to live a 24x7 lifestyle, it simply does NOT work out, unless you are able to live in a totally controlled artificial environment, such as a space station.
Light pollution will be your biggest obstacle to overcome in trying to sleep, each night. It can very from as little as a single street lamp, or security light in your backyard to the full blown light works of a busy street in the middle of the night of a city that never sleeps. In most cases, light from a single street lamp, just like moonlight, will still cue your body that it is indeed night, and time to sleep, provided that you are still looking at a large area of darkness.
Daytime is easy to simulate since it only requires light. Whereas nighttime experience is hard to achieve in a 24x7 world, since it requires total darkness.
Light pollution mars visual cues that it is indeed nighttime and time to sleep. Looking outside of an open door or window will not do you any good, if light pollution destroys the effect. In the case, of an urban environment it is often pointless and counter productive to look at extreme amounts of bright lights at night.
In cases of extreme light pollution, your only other option would be to dim your interior lighting a few hours before bedtime. Especially, turn off all overhead bright fluorescent lighting. Leave, on at most only one or two lamps in a room, ideally with reduced wattage. Leave hallways and unoccupied rooms completely dark.
Finally, try sleeping in a totally dark room, whose windows have been well covered up. Ideally, any trips to the bathroom should be done in the dark, or with a flashlight that shines a dim red shade of light.
References:
- The dark side of light at night: physiological, epidemiological, and ecological consequences.
Navara KJ, Nelson RJ.
J Pineal Res. 2007 Oct;43(3):215-24. Review.
PMID: 17803517 - Light pollution, reproductive function and cancer risk.
Anisimov VN.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2006 Feb-Apr;27(1-2):35-52. Review.
PMID: 16648818 - Lighting for the human circadian clock: recent research indicates that lighting has become a public health issue.
Pauley SM.
Med Hypotheses. 2004;63(4):588-96.
PMID: 15325001 - Light-at-night, circadian disruption and breast cancer: assessment of existing evidence.
Stevens RG.
Int J Epidemiol. 2009 Aug;38(4):963-70. Epub 2009 Apr 20.
PMID: 19380369 - Electric light causes cancer? Surely you're joking, Mr. Stevens.
Stevens RG.
Mutat Res. 2009 Jul-Aug;682(1):1-6. Epub 2009 Jan 16. Review.
PMID: 19401186 - Putting cancer to sleep at night: the neuroendocrine/circadian melatonin signal.
Blask DE, Dauchy RT, Sauer LA.
Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):179-88. Review.
PMID: 16217131 - Night shift work, light at night, and risk of breast cancer.
Davis S, Mirick DK, Stevens RG.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001 Oct 17;93(20):1557-62.
PMID: 11604479
