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Saturday, January 27, 2007

Should've Just Read "Lights Out"

Lights At Night

I wrote a book review of Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival previously. In this book, Wiley and Formby lay out the premise of why modern humans suffer from debilitating diseases and how light toxicity contributes. Now comes this finding that jives perfectly with that book's premise:

Night life under electric lighting may cause serious behavioral disorders and physical diseases including cancer, according to a specialist team led of the Professor N.N. Pertov Scientific Research Institute of Oncology, Russian Ministry of Healthcare, and Petrozavodsk State University, who have been investigating the effects of night-time illumination on people’s health for several years.


Basically, strong light suppresses melatonin which is necessary for proper hormonal functioning. Think about all of the little lights in your room: alarm clock, LEDs on the DVD player, light coming through the windows, etc. All of that light is wreaking havoc on your hormonal systems by suppressing melatonin release. It is important to make your room as dark as possible and sleep 7-10 (8+ is optimal) per night.