To Your Health: Keep the artificial light out and your head on the pillow

By Gillian Slade on April 30, 2018.

Most us say we would do almost anything for a restful/restorative night’s sleep. It may be easier than we think.

There is some excellent research indicating just how much artificial light is interfering with our sleep.

For a minute let your mind go back to the sort of lives our great-grandparents lived. Physical labour was a big part of their day whether they were at home, cleaning, washing, carrying water, tending to animals, farming, walking to school, shops, etc. They were awake at first light and were probably physically exhausted by dusk. As natural daylight faded so did the chores that required light. They may have enjoyed a meal using candle light or an oil lamp but went to bed early and probably slept much more deeply than we do.

There are still parts of the world where people live like this. Think of isolated areas in Africa and South America in particular. They may socialize in the evening but it would probably be around an outdoor fire or with dim light from a candle or two.

There is a fascinating story of a British researcher who decided to suddenly switch to using only natural light and it changed her life, it became more in sync with the naturally occurring day and night.

Just think about your day and how much you are exposed to artificial light. If you work in an office you may not even have a window and depend on artificial light all day. At home we switch on lights and expose our eyes to artificial light all evening and add to the mix light from computers, smart phones and television.

Researchers say it the artificial light that is affecting our natural body cycle and impacting our quality of sleep.

For those of us who find it difficult to sleep in, when daylight comes streaming through the bedroom blinds and drapes, can identify. That daylight stimulated our bodies to start the day.

Instead of darkness triggering the slowing down process and preparing us for restful sleep, we trick our body into believing there is daylight almost all the time because of the artificial light we are exposed to.

The British researcher made a point of exposing herself to plenty of natural light during daylight hours and then severely restricted how much artificial light she was exposed to after 6 p.m. Used candles at night and curtailed the use of a smartphone, computer and television that would all contribute to that artificial light.

A trend developed. She and her family went to bed earlier because they felt sleepier in the evenings. They slept longer and felt more rested.

There is another study that revealed people who go camping in winter, being exposed to natural light and darkness, tend to sleep almost two and a half hours longer than they would normally.

It has all made me recall the two years I lived in Yellowknife, N.W.T. in the 1980s. With almost continuous daylight in the short summer we seldom felt tired and slept less. In winter however, when there are only a few hours of daylight each day, we slept much longer.

Not everything about how we have changed our lives has been an improvement. There are some lessons we can learn from returning to making the most of natural daylight, restricting artificial light, and reaping the rewards of sleeping better at night.

Here’s to sleeping well and here’s To Your Health.

To Your Health is a weekly column by Gillian Slade, health reporter for the News, bringing you news on health issues and research from around the world. You can reach her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or 403-528-8635.