Everyone knows that good sleep is important our health. Not everyone knows how important it is to sleep the dark. A new report says sleeping the light could be bad for our health. Researchers say turning off the light when we sleep helps to keep diabetes and heart disease. Sleeping the light on could increase the risk of getting these diseases. The researchers said around 40 per cent people sleep with some sort of artificial light. They said even light a television or alarm clock could affect our health. They added that the worst thing to sleep is a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult people who live in cities, where there is a lot of outdoor light at night.
The researchers are the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, USA. The lead researcher, Dr Phyllis Zee, is an expert sleep medicine. She said it is healthier for us to turn all lights when we sleep. Her team conducted a study the blood sugar levels of 20 people nights of sleep. The people who slept a light on had higher blood sugar levels the next morning compared to those who slept total darkness. Dr Zee said this is because light stimulates brain activity, which raises blood sugar levels. She said there are three things we can do to reduce the risk illness: turn the lights, never sleep white or blue light; and use a blackout curtain or wear an eye mask.
