There’s been evidence that daytime light exposure increases heart rate through activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which helps fuel your heart to work harder and increases alertness to respond. meet the challenges of the day.
“Our results indicate that a similar effect occurs when light exposure occurs during nighttime sleep.” Zee said. The study will be published in PNAS.
Heart rate increases in a room with light and the body cannot rest properly
“We show your heart rate increases when you sleep in a room with moderate light” Daniela Grimaldi, co-first author and research assistant in neurology at Northwestern. “Even when you’re asleep, your autonomic nervous system is still activated. That’s bad. Normally, your heart rate, along with other cardiovascular parameters, is lower at night and higher at night. daytime.”
There are sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to regulate our physiology during the day and at night. Sympathetic is in charge during the day and parasympathetic is in charge at night, when it imparts healing to the whole body.
How night light can lead to diabetes and obesity
The investigators found that insulin resistance occurred in the morning after people slept in rooms with light. Insulin resistance is when the cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond well to insulin and can’t use glucose from your blood for energy. To compensate for it, your pancreas makes more insulin. Over time, your blood sugar rises.
An earlier study published in JAMA lingerie Consider a large number of healthy individuals exposed to light during sleep. Zee says they are more overweight and obese.
“We are now showing a possible mechanism underlying why this happens.” Zee said. “We showed it affects your ability to regulate glucose.”
The study participants were not aware of the biological changes in their bodies at night.
“But the brain senses it,” Grimaldi said. “It works like someone’s brain has light and sporadic sleep. Sleep physiology doesn’t rest the way it should.”
Exposure to artificial light at night during sleep is common
Exposure to artificial light at night during sleep is common, from light-emitting devices indoors or from sources outside the home, especially in large urban areas. A significant proportion (up to 40%) sleep with a bedside lamp on or with a bedroom light on and/or with the TV on.
Light and its relationship to health are two-sided
“In addition to sleep, nutrition and exercise, light exposure during the day is an important factor in health, but at night we show that even modest light intensities may impair measures of heart and endocrine health”. Zee said.
The study examined the effects of sleeping with 100 lux (moderate light) versus 3 lux (dim light) in participants for one night. The investigators found that moderate light exposure puts the body into a state of heightened alertness. In this state, your heart rate increases as does the force of your heart’s contraction and the rate at which blood is directed to your blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the blood stream.
“These findings are especially important for people living in modern societies, where exposure to indoor and outdoor night light is increasingly common,” Zee said.
Zee’s top tips for dimming sleep
- Don’t turn on the light. If you need to turn on a light (which older people may want for safety), set it to a dim light closer to the floor.
- Color is important. Amber or red/orange light is less stimulating to the brain. Do not use white or blue light and keep it away from sleeping people.
- Shades or eye masks are great if you can’t control outdoor light. Move your bed so outdoor light doesn’t hit your face.
Is my room too bright?
“If you can see things really well, maybe it’s too light,” Zee said.
Source: Eurekalert
