It would seem, what difference does it make whether to sleep in the light or without - if the sleep is deep, what will prevent it? But scientists and doctors insist that sleeping in the light can significantly harm health. Let's take a look at what the consequences of sleeping with the lamp on can be, and how to ensure yourself a healthy sleep.
Are you used to falling asleep under the TV? Is your night light on or is your electronic clock constantly on? Do the curtains let in the light from streetlights and signage? It turns out that this is a cause for serious concern. For example, a somnologist (specialist in the study of sleep) Dr. Kenji Obayashi from Nara Medical University says that as a result of a number of experiments, it turned out that sleep in the light can be fraught with insomnia, metabolic disorders in the body, the appearance of excess weight, cardiovascular diseases, the appearance mental disorders, depression and even manifestations of suicidal tendencies.
The sphere of sleep is not yet fully understood, and there is a lot of incomprehensible in it, however, scientists have found that during sleep in the light there are disturbances in circadian rhythms that regulate the change of periods of wakefulness and sleep and other physiological processes (the so-called "internal clock" of a person).
To understand what caused this, let us turn to the life of our ancient ancestors. During the day for man, the sun was the only source of light, while at night only the moon and stars shone. Only a fire could provide artificial light. Thus, for centuries, the same circadian rhythms have been formed that "make" us awake during the day and sleep at night.
However, with the invention of electricity, age-old habits began to change rapidly. These changes became especially strong with the advent of televisions and computers. Today they are found in almost every home, and in most cases the process of falling asleep is accompanied by flickering of the TV. Artificial lighting is brighter than the light of the moon and stars, therefore, the body experiences a "failure in the program", and a number of biochemical reactions are triggered, which subsequently negatively affect our health.
One of these reactions is a disturbance in the balance of the hormones cortisol and melatonin.
Lighting in your bedroom at night leads to hormonal changes
The hormone melatonin is the regulator of our circadian rhythms. The production of this hormone directly depends on the level of light. About 70 percent of melatonin secretion occurs at night. It helps to lower blood pressure, glucose levels, and body temperature, giving our bodies deep, healthy sleep.
It has been proven that an excess of light inhibits the synthesis and secretion of melatonin, and a decrease in illumination, on the contrary, promotes its active production.
Artificial lighting upsets the balance of another hormone, cortisol, which normally decreases at night and increases during the day. Light at night knocks these processes down, and it becomes much more difficult for a person to fall asleep. Moreover, due to an excess of cortisol - an anxiety hormone - not only sleep is disturbed, but also appetite, which will subsequently contribute to the formation of extra pounds.
It is worth noting that the hormonal background is influenced not only by the level of illumination during sleep, but also by the amount of light that affected our body before. Note that blue light inhibits melatonin production especially strongly.
Is dim and weak light in the bedroom dangerous while sleeping?
During sleep, not only bright light is dangerous to human health. Even dim lighting can have a negative impact on mental health.
For example, studies conducted on hamsters have shown the relationship between light at night and the development of depression. For several nights in a row, the hamsters were illuminated with a dull color, after which the animals lost interest in their favorite delicacy - sweet water - in the daytime. After the hamsters started sleeping in the dark again, their old addictions returned, and they happily drank sweet water.
The human immune system can also suffer from inadequate lighting during sleep. The hormone melatonin is associated with immunological parameters that deteriorate significantly with a decrease in its production.
Thus, the luminous display of any electrical appliance at night disrupts sleep and the normal functioning of the body. It is necessary to take care of blackout curtains that do not let in the light of streetlights and signs from the street, and also remove all glowing devices from your bedroom during sleep.
What health problems can arise from too much lighting during sleep?
It is believed that excessive lighting can trigger the development of cancer. Hormonal disturbances simply cannot pass without a trace for the body. One of the most serious health consequences is the increased risk of cancer.
This was confirmed by scientific studies lasting 10 years. During the experiment, one group of women slept in the light and the other in the dark. As a result, the risk of breast cancer in the first group was 22% higher than in the second. Scientists believe that melatonin is again the cause of this relationship. Earlier experiments have demonstrated the ability of melatonin to block the growth of melanoma cancer cells.
Melatonin also helps in the fight against aging in the body. It has a protective effect on brain cells by blocking free radicals and preventing degenerative changes. This hormone is even used by people over forty years of age to prevent Parkinson's disease, due to its pronounced antioxidant effect and the ability to provide protection inside the cells of the human brain.
In the modern world, the problem of obesity has become very common and one of the many reasons for this phenomenon can be considered a factor of lack of melatonin. Sleeping in the light at night disrupts the natural rhythms of a person, hormonal balance and metabolic processes. As a result of such violations, excess weight appears.
Scientists have experimentally proven the relationship between sleep and weight. The study was carried out in mice. It turned out that rodents that slept in the light gained weight much faster than mice that slept in the dark. At the same time, the amount of food, water and physical activity in all rodents was the same.
What to do? How can you avoid all these problems?
- 1 If possible, do not work the night shift. If such work cannot be avoided, be sure to sleep with closed blackout curtains on the windows. It should be dark in your room when you sleep.
- 2 Remove all gadgets from the bedroom that glow in the dark. Dim bedside lamps will also have to be hidden. Minimum light in the room!
- 3 Take care that streetlights and neon signs do not enter your bedroom. Dark curtains made of thick fabric or blinds will help you with this.
- 4 Break the habit of reading from your tablet before bed. In general, leave your smartphone, computer, and tablet outside of your bedroom whenever possible.
- 5 If it is impossible to achieve complete darkness in the room during sleep, it is worth using a special blindfold.
Lack of sleep and insomnia are factors that significantly impair our well-being and health. According to scientists, a large percentage of heart attacks occur due to chronic lack of sleep. An important factor in a healthy and satisfying sleep is precisely the night when it is dark.
Serotonin and Melatonin
The human body is designed so that during the day it produces the hormone serotonin, which is responsible for a good mood and happiness in general. This hormone completely affects our mood and attitude towards life, on a positive attitude. If it is not produced enough, the person falls into depression, apathy begins. At night, the human brain produces another hormone, melatonin, and it is darkness that is the primary factor for its production. This hormone gives a person a hypnotic effect and is responsible for a healthy, sound and full sleep.
During sleep, the human body recovers and rejuvenates. The energy spent during the day returns to the person. The nervous system, cardiovascular system and the body as a whole are restored. If the body does not produce enough melatonin, insomnia and stress begin.
Over the course of time, a person experiences a lot of disruptions from the natural rhythm of life. Sleep and wakefulness patterns change frequently. If a person wants to sleep off during the day, then melatonin is not produced. Thus, malfunctions occur in the body, which ultimately lead to stress.
What's the best thing to do?
1. When you go to bed - turn off the lights everywhere, even dim night lights.
2. All luminous objects (watches, gadgets, laptops, chargers, lamps) must be removed from the room.
3. Close windows blinds or curtains to prevent light from entering.
4. Don't watch movies or read books before bed on your smartphone or tablet.
5. Change jobs if you frequently go out to night shifts.
Back in 2000, at an international WHO conference, doctors expressed concern about the growth of cancer, attributing it to night lighting, which affects the quality of sleep.
Today we have irrefutable evidence: at night you need to sleep in the dark, sleeping in the light and staying awake at night are fraught with cancer.
Sleep hormone is the key to good health
The hormone melatonin is a natural sleeping pill and regulator of daily biorhythms. It is produced by the pineal gland (pineal gland). When it gets dark, melatonin synthesis increases.
Its increasing flow into the bloodstream helps to rebuild from active wakefulness to sleep, we begin to experience drowsiness.
The health role of melatonin is difficult to overestimate:
Regulates circadian rhythms, helps to easily fall asleep, actively stay awake during the day;
Improves the state of mind, relieves stress;
Normalizes blood pressure;
Protects against DNA damage, neutralizes free radicals and cancer cells;
Inhibits aging, increases life expectancy;
Strengthens the immune system;
Stabilizes hormonal balance and the work of the endocrine system;
Reduces body fat to maintain optimal weight with normal sleep.
In a day, the body of an adult produces melatonin up to 30 μg, 70% of which falls at night, which exceeds the daily synthesis by 30 times. Sleep hormone production peaks around 2 a.m., and therefore it is very important to sleep at this time, even if you are an owl.
With age, the secretion of melatonin decreases, which can cause insomnia in the elderly.
The brighter the night, the less melatonin is produced.
The main enemy of melatonin, and therefore our health, is light at night. Moreover, any - from a TV or PC screen, a lamp outside the window, an electronic alarm clock dial, etc. You need to fall asleep in complete darkness. Ideal when it is impossible to see your hand (or any object).
If at night you had to get up and turn on the light, the synthesis of the hormone slows down, the debugging of the body is disrupted. As a result, we find it difficult to fall asleep again, and during the day we do not feel fully rested.
Melatonin in sufficient quantity makes our sleep full, health - strong, life - active. If there is little sleep hormone - stress, insomnia, failures in all organs and systems are provided.
Technological progress destroys our health
With the development of technical progress, mankind has received the opportunity to extend daylight hours to infinity. How did this benefit turn out for people?
First of all, sleep suffered. Insomnia and other insomnias “walk” the planet, forcing people to buy synthetic sleeping pills, because the natural sleeping pill, melatonin, is produced in insufficient quantities in the light during sleep.
Our sleep is accompanied by lighting from gadgets, streetlights outside the window, electronic alarm clock faces. Blue light is especially harmful.
Blue light is the enemy of melatonin
Blue light with wavelengths ranging from 450 to 480 nanometers suppresses sleep hormone synthesis the most. As a result, the hand of the biological clock is shifted towards the day by approximately 3 hours. For comparison: waves of green light "push back" the night by an hour and a half.
1. In the evening, avoid blue rays so as not to "frighten off" sleep.
2. Before going to bed, wear glasses with amber glasses.
3. Give up watching TV and working at the computer 1 hour before bed. There are a lot of blue rays in the spectrum of their screens.
4. Energy saving and LED lamps have a lot of blue spectrum. Try to buy with a pink, “warm” light.
5. Stock up on good old incandescent bulbs while they are on sale and use them at home in the evenings.
6. No place in the bedroom for nightlights, electronic alarm clocks, gadgets with blue lamps, numbers, "eyes".
In the morning, a bright blue light, on the other hand, will help you wake up faster.
How light can get in the way, because your eyes are closed during sleep
Special cells in the retina of the human eye are connected by nerve fibers not with the visual centers of the brain, but with the pineal gland, which controls the circadian rhythm and biological clock. The light-sensitive pigment of these cells reacts to any light, which reduces the production of sleep hormone, leading to a failure of biorhythms.
Melatonin and cancer
Cancer and insufficient sleep are interdependent, California scientists said.
People who get enough sleep at night have a stronger immunity to cancer. They produce enough melatonin, an antioxidant that protects DNA from damage.
This hormone inhibits the secretion of estrogen in women, which triggers the formation of cancer cells. Ladies who are awake at night are at risk.
Provokes the development and growth of cancerous tumors night illumination, proved by Israeli researchers (University of Haifa).
Four groups of mice were infected with malignant cells and placed in different light modes. The tumors progressed rapidly due to a lack of melatonin in mice that were exposed to light for 16 hours and in those that were periodically turned on during darkness.
Those mice that received additional melatonin showed the best results and the lowest mortality despite 16 hours of light.
The conclusion of scientists is disappointing:
light pollution has become a real environmental disaster for people. Night lighting disrupts biorhythms that have been formed over millions of years of evolution, leads to insufficient production of the sleep hormone, which provokes prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women.
Summary
Civilization is inexorably destroying human biorhythms, which allowed him to become the most numerous and highly adapted population on Earth. It is difficult to withstand daily stress, but it is within the power of each of us to go to bed on time and ensure complete darkness in the bedroom (hang dark curtains, turn off gadgets, put on a mask over our eyes, etc.).
We wish you full sleep and good health!
Sources: www.nkj.ru, "Biological rhythms of health" V. Grinevich, Doctor of Medical Sciences.
Back in 2000, at an international WHO conference, physicians expressed concern about the growth of cancer, linking it to night illumination, which affects.
Today we have irrefutable evidence: at night you need to sleep in the dark, sleeping in the light and staying awake at night are fraught with cancer.
Sleep hormone is the key to good health
The hormone melatonin is a natural sleeping pill, regulator, our own powerful antioxidant, superior to vitamins C and E.
It is produced by the pineal gland. When it gets dark, melatonin synthesis increases.
Its increasing flow into the bloodstream helps to rebuild from active wakefulness to sleep, we begin to experience drowsiness.
The health role of melatonin is difficult to overestimate:
Regulates circadian rhythms, helps to easily fall asleep, actively stay awake during the day;
Improves the state of mind, relieves stress;
Normalizes blood pressure;
Inhibits aging, increases life expectancy;
Strengthens the immune system;
Stabilizes hormonal balance and the work of the endocrine system;
Reduces the percentage of fat, ensuring optimal weight under normal conditions;
Protects DNA from free radical damage - the main culprits in cancer, Alzheimer's, atherosclerosis and premature aging.
What are free radicals in the body: evil or good, why do they lead to oxidation, old age, disease; how to protect yourself, where to get antioxidants, whether they work (scientists' findings).
In a day, the body of an adult produces melatonin up to 30 μg, 70% of which falls at night, which exceeds the daily synthesis by 30 times. The peak of the production of the sleep hormone occurs around 2 am, and therefore it is very important at this time to sleep, even if.
By the way, melatonin deficiency is one of the causes of night meal syndrome, in which people wake up at night from hunger and are unable to fall asleep without a snack.
With age, the secretion of melatonin decreases, which can cause insomnia in the elderly.
The brighter the night, the less melatonin is produced.
The main enemy of melatonin, and therefore our health, is light at night. Moreover, any - from a TV or PC screen, a lamp outside the window, an electronic alarm clock dial, etc. You need to fall asleep in complete darkness. Ideal when it is impossible to see your hand (or any object).
If at night you had to get up and turn on the light, the synthesis of the hormone slows down, the debugging of the body is disrupted. As a result, we do not feel fully rested during the day.
Melatonin in sufficient quantity makes our sleep full, health - strong, life - active... If there is little sleep hormone - stress, insomnia, failures in all organs and systems are provided.
Technological progress destroys our health
With the development of technical progress, mankind has received the opportunity to extend daylight hours to infinity. How did this benefit turn out for people?
First of all, sleep suffered. Insomnia and other insomnias “walk” the planet, forcing people to buy synthetic sleeping pills, because the natural sleeping pill, melatonin, is produced in insufficient quantities in the light during sleep.
Our sleep is accompanied by lighting from gadgets, streetlights outside the window, electronic alarm clock faces. Blue light is especially harmful.
Blue light is the enemy of melatonin
Blue light with wavelengths ranging from 450 to 480 nanometers suppresses sleep hormone synthesis the most. As a result, the hand of the biological clock is shifted towards the day by approximately 3 hours. For comparison: waves of green light "push back" the night by an hour and a half.
1. In the evening, avoid blue rays so as not to "frighten off" sleep.
2. Before going to bed, wear glasses with amber glasses.
3. Give up watching TV and working at the computer 1 hour before bed. There are a lot of blue rays in the spectrum of their screens.
4. Energy saving and LED lamps have a lot of blue spectrum. Try to buy with a pink, “warm” light.
5. Stock up on good old incandescent bulbs while they are on sale and use them at home in the evenings.
6. No place in the bedroom for nightlights, electronic alarm clocks, gadgets with blue lamps, numbers, "eyes".
In the morning, a bright blue light, on the other hand, will help.
How light can get in the way, because your eyes are closed during sleep
Special cells in the retina of the human eye are connected by nerve fibers not with the visual centers of the brain, but with the pineal gland, which controls the circadian rhythm and biological clock. The light-sensitive pigment of these cells reacts to any light, which reduces the production of sleep hormone, leading to a failure of biorhythms.
Melatonin and cancer
Cancer and insufficient sleep are interdependent, California scientists said.
People have stronger immunity to cancer, well getting enough sleep at night... They produce enough melatonin, an antioxidant that protects DNA from damage.
This hormone inhibits the secretion of estrogen in women, which triggers the formation of cancer cells. Ladies who are awake at night are at risk.
Provokes the development and growth of cancerous tumors night illumination, proved by Israeli researchers (University of Haifa).
Four groups of mice were infected with malignant cells and placed in different light modes. The tumors progressed rapidly due to a lack of melatonin in mice that were exposed to light for 16 hours and in those that were periodically turned on during darkness.
Those mice that received additional melatonin showed the best results and the lowest mortality despite 16 hours of light.
The conclusion of scientists is disappointing:
light pollution has become a real environmental disaster for people. Night lighting disrupts biorhythms that have been formed over millions of years of evolution, leads to insufficient production of the sleep hormone, which provokes prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women.
Summary
Civilization is inexorably destroying human biorhythms, which allowed him to become the most numerous and highly adapted population on Earth. It is difficult to withstand daily stress, but it is within the power of each of us to go to bed on time and ensure complete darkness in the bedroom (hang dark curtains, turn off gadgets, put on a mask over our eyes, etc.).
We wish you full sleep and good health!
Sources: www.nkj.ru, "Biological rhythms of health" V. Grinevich, Doctor of Medical Sciences.
Elena Valve for the Sleepy Cantata project.
Why it is so necessary and important to sleep in the dark... To problems with which hormone this can lead. How to prevent this and how to ensure that sleep becomes sound and full.
Everyone knows how important sleep is to us.
During sleep, our body does not just rest, it regenerates itself. Everyone knows that it is advisable to go to bed and get up at the same time. Our body quickly gets used to the routine and adjusts. Everyone knows to sleep at least 6-7 hours.
Does everyone adhere to these simple, well-known rules?
In the age of technology, we fall asleep in front of the TV, some even manage to do it in front of a computer, tablet, phone.
Many parents leave the night light on in the children's room for the whole night, for many easily explainable and understandable reasons (children are often afraid of the dark, they suddenly wake up and want to use the toilet and in the same spirit).
But the fact that you need to sleep in complete darkness, many do not even suspect.
It turns out that our body has its own biological clock built into it, which controls many important processes in our body.
One of these processes is the production of the hormone Melatonin, which (as evil for many people) is produced only in complete darkness.
And why this is so important and you need to know, I will tell you in this post.
What is Melatonin?
It is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland of our brain. This gland, by the way, is also called the third eye.
The call to produce Melatonin is the lack of light.
This dark-loving hormone plays a big role in physical and mental health, controls our mood and, in addition, is a powerful antioxidant!
A lack of Melatonin can cause numerous and very serious health problems.
This is a weak immunity, an increased risk of malignant tumors (study of the relationship between low levels of Melatonin and breast cancer), hypertension, diseases of the cardiovascular system, hormonal imbalance, obesity.
Scientists consider the lack of this hormone as one of the possible risks for the development of multiple sclerosis and depression.
As I already mentioned, we humans, like all creatures of the animal world, have our own circadian or circadian rhythm, which tells us that we need to go to bed when it gets dark and wake up when it gets brighter.
This is exactly what our ancestors followed. I remember my grandma, who went to bed at about 9 pm, and woke up at sunrise, at about 6 am.
The same goes for the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda: go to bed no later than 10 pm and get up at 5-6 am. This is explained by the energy of the sun and our connection with this energy.
But there is also a more scientific explanation that fully supports Ayurveda.
Inside our hypothalamus lives a group of special cells called cells Suprachiasmatic Nucleus that control our biological clock, again depending on the lighting.
Light reaches these cells through our optic nerve.
When, for example, it is time to wake up, the light stimulates these cells. At the same time, lighting provokes the beginning of a whole process of "waking up" of our entire body, which goes unnoticed for us. Our body temperature rises, hormone synthesis increases Cortisol.
When these special cells do not receive enough light, they begin the opposite process - the production of the hormone Melatonin which can be said and helps us sleep.
That is, it turns out that if you sleep at night with the TV on (and yes, even this, it would seem, dim lighting can interrupt the synthesis of Melatonin) or the night light is on, then you are on the road with a serious hormonal imbalance, which threatens problems not only with the quality of sleep but also general health.
In addition to this, artificial lighting, when natural light is no longer available, increases the synthesis of the hormone Cortisol, which prevents you from falling asleep, provokes hunger and triggers a number of chronic inflammatory reactions.
How to achieve optimal synthesis of Melatonin?
« Sleep in the dark « will sound very hackneyed, but this is a simple uncomplicated truth.
- Turn off lights, bedside lamps, TV, computer, and even a digital desk clock.
- Cover windows with heavy curtains or blinds that block out light.
- Ideally, scientists say that the room where you sleep should be so dark that you will not be able to see, for example, your own hand. Personally, I have not yet reached such darkness, but I strive very much for this.
- Teach your children from childhood to also sleep in the dark. They look and repeat after you, be the right example for them to follow.
- I do not advise trying to replace full sleep without light with a reception.
