Saving the Night by Stephen Aitken

Author:Stephen Aitken [Aitken, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459831094
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2022-10-26T19:24:01+00:00

In a Healthy Light

Eighty percent of the world’s population lives under skyglow at night. What effect is it having on human health? The cells that detect light in our eyes are very sensitive. They send signals to our brains that start a lot of different physiological processes. Take melatonin for instance. In humans, as in other mammals, melatonin secretion is reduced when an organism is exposed to lights at night. A lack of melatonin can increase the risk of mood swings and anxiety, especially in children.

Do you know that you have a clock in your body? The circadian clock is a 24-hour “timepiece” that regulates sleep, activity patterns and hunger, but it is disrupted by light at night. Light-emitting diodes, better known as LEDs, have dramatically reduced energy consumption for lighting. But they have a downside. LEDs emit light at wavelengths in the blue range of the visible spectra. Blue light suppresses the secretion of melatonin even more than the yellow-spectrum light of traditional incandescent light bulbs. Many experts are calling for a limit on smartphones, tablets and computers at night. That’s why you may see some devices now with software to warm the light emitted at night.

A young face bathed in the blue light from an LED screen has become a commonplace sight over the last decade or so. More medical research is needed to determine blue light’s effects on human health and development. KIRIILL RYZHOV/DREAMSTIME.COM Researchers are exploring the links between night lighting and chronic diseases, particularly cancer and obesity. Do you look at your cell phone, tablet or computer screen in your room at night? If you do, have you ever considered what it is doing to your health? Screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly increased with so many people restricted to indoor activities. Try not looking at a screen at night for a full week. Does it make a difference to your sleep cycle? Do you sleep more deeply or for a longer period?

It would be easy to conclude that light pollution is only a problem on land, where most human activity takes place.However, marine and freshwater environments are particularly sensitive to light since it readily passes through the surface layers of water. Skyglow from cities and the lights of fishing vessels, oil rigs and icebreakers are disrupting ocean ecosystems, from coastal seabeds to vulnerable coral reefs.

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