U.S. researcher explains why artificial light while Sleeping is a bad idea

Who starts the Sleep light, don’t waste energy, he also takes some pounds. This is the result researchers at the Research Triangle Park in the U.S. state of North Carolina. They published the amazing results of an elaborate study of 44,000 women aged between 35 and 74 years in the journal “JAMA Internal Medicine”.

Therefore, when artificial light is the so – called ALAN (Artificial Light at Night) – sleeping women increased over the study period of five years more than five kilograms. At the same time the “Body Mass Index climbed” up to ten percent. Night Snacks and cravings have to do with the weight gain by the way nothing to. You’ve ensured that the participants did not feed as variable as possible, physically active and getting enough sleep, so study leader Dale Sandler. The Plus on the scale could, therefore, only to the fact that the women sleeping in artificial light.

Internal clock confused: Stress instead of relaxation

The assumptions of the research teams to Sandler in the truest sense of the word plausible. Who sleeps with the light on, and brings its internal clock and day-night-rhythm of the beat. Closely related to this is also the feeling of Hunger is linked to. “The day-night cycle is important so that the hormones, which determine the sleep and the Hunger, are adequately regulated,” says Sandler. Device so the cycle is out of control, the irritated body increasingly Glucocortoide (stress hormones) to gain rather than with the sleep hormone Melatonin, the necessary rest. The through the bedroom or nursery glow of light from street lamps and neon signs enough already, by the way, in order to bring the organism in a mess and him believe that he must not switch to night mode.

That a stressed body comes harder to rest, a also lights up. The U.S. researchers from the National Institute of Health suggest, therefore, that lack of sleep in the weight gain plays a role. To make it short: Who sleeps less, has more time to eat.

“Turn off the light before you go to Sleep”

Similar simple the recommendations of the scientists. “Turn off the light before you go to bed,” advises Sandler. And just the night table lamp, but also the TV and the Smartphone does not mean.

Previous studies came to the result that a disturbed day-night-cycle have a negative impact on the well-being. Accordingly, the imbalance also increases the risk for hypertension, Diabetes, depression, and obesity.

If it comforts the women: A similar Experiment in men would have led, according to Dale Sandler to the same result.

Sources: “infranken.de”; “RTL”