2023-10-15 08:10:11
Brightness is good – but only during the day! Anyone exposed to high levels of light at night risks mental illnesses such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis and self-harm.
That shows one new study from Monash University in Australia, which was published in the journal “Nature Mental Health”. Data from almost 87,000 people from the British biobank were examined for light exposure, sleep, physical activity and mental health – the largest study of its kind in the world.
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When there was a lot of light at night, the study participants’ risk of depression increased by 30 percent. In contrast, it fell by 20 percent for those who only got a lot of light during the day. Similar results have also been found for other psychiatric disorders.
Simple measure, effective effect
“Our results may have an enormous impact on society,” hopes study leader Prof. Sean Cain. “Once people understand that their light exposure has a strong impact on their mental health, they can take some simple steps to optimize their well-being.”
So bright light during the day and darkness at night might be an effective, non-pharmacological means of reducing serious psychological problems.
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According to Prof. Cain, our brains function best in bright light during the day and almost no light at night. However, today’s people question this biology: “Because they spend around 90 percent of the day in closed rooms with electric light, which is too weak during the day and too bright at night compared to the natural cycles of light and darkness.” This confuses our bodies and make us sick.
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#Depression #bipolar #disorder #Light #mentally #ill #Life #Knowledge
