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Sleeping with a light on can harm our health

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Sleep and Light - Level 0

Sleeping in the dark is important for our health. Sleeping with the light on could be bad for us. We could get diabetes or heart disease. About 40 per cent of people sleep with a non-natural light, like a television. The worst thing is sleeping with a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people in cities.

An expert on sleep medicine said it is healthier to turn off lights when we sleep. She studied the blood sugar levels of 20 people. Those who slept with a light on had higher sugar levels than those who slept in the dark. Light makes the brain active. This raises blood sugar. We should turn off the lights or wear an eye mask.

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Sleep and Light - Level 1

Sleep is important for our health. It is important to sleep in the dark. Sleeping with the light on could be bad for us. Turning off the light helps to keep away diabetes and heart disease. Around 40 per cent of people sleep with some sort of artificial light, like a television or alarm clock. The worst thing is sleeping with a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people in cities. This is because there is a lot of outdoor light at night.

Dr Phyllis Zee is an expert in sleep medicine. She said it is healthier to turn off lights when we sleep. She did a study on the blood sugar levels of 20 people. The people who slept with a light on had higher sugar levels than those who slept in the dark. Dr Zee said light makes the brain active, which raises blood sugar. There are three things we can do: turn off the lights, never sleep with white or blue light; and wear an eye mask.

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Sleep and Light - Level 2

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Sleep is important for our health. Not everyone knows it is important to sleep in the dark. Researchers say sleeping with the light on could be bad for us. Turning off the light when we sleep helps to keep away diabetes and heart disease. Light could increase the risk of getting these diseases. Around 40 per cent of people sleep with some sort of artificial light, from a television, alarm clock or something else. The worst thing is sleeping with a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people in cities, where there is a lot of outdoor light at night.

The researchers are from a university of medicine in Chicago, USA. Researcher Dr Phyllis Zee is an expert in sleep medicine. She said it is healthier to turn off all lights when we sleep. She conducted a study of the blood sugar levels of 20 people after nights of sleep. The people who slept with a light on had higher sugar levels than those who slept in darkness. Dr Zee said light stimulates brain activity, which raises blood sugar. She said there are three things we can do to reduce the risk of illness: turn off the lights, never sleep with white or blue light; and wear an eye mask.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Sleep and Light - Level 3

Everyone knows that good sleep is important for our health. Not everyone knows how important it is to sleep in the dark. A new report says sleeping with the light on could be bad for our health. Researchers say turning off the light when we sleep helps to keep away diabetes and heart disease. Sleeping with the light on could increase the risk of getting these diseases. The researchers said around 40 per cent of people sleep with some sort of artificial light. They said even light from a television or alarm clock could affect our health. They added that the worst thing to sleep with is a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people who live in cities, where there is a lot of outdoor light at night.

The researchers are from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, USA. The lead researcher, Dr Phyllis Zee, is an expert in sleep medicine. She said it is healthier for us to turn off all lights when we sleep. Her team conducted a study of the blood sugar levels of 20 people after nights of sleep. The people who slept with a light on had higher blood sugar levels the next morning compared to those who slept in 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 of illness: turn off the lights, never sleep with white or blue light; and use a blackout curtain or wear an eye mask.

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