Sleep in darkness for better heart health
New research from Tulane University suggests that sleeping in total darkness is beneficial for cardiovascular health. The study indicates that even minor light exposure, such as from a phone screen or hallway light, may negatively affect heart structure.
Why it matters
This finding adds to the growing body of evidence regarding the health risks of light pollution and provides actionable advice for sleep hygiene and heart disease prevention.
Many a pop song has nudged us to turn the lights down low, but for cardiovascular (heart) health, the better choice is to keep them off entirely it seems, with new research suggesting that pitch black is best of all for sleep.
According to researchers at Tulane University in the United States who looked at health data spanning three years for around 11,000 people in Britain, “even small amounts of nighttime light exposure” can be linked to “potentially harmful changes in the heart’s structure and function”.
Published in the European Heart Journal , the research suggests that even hallway lighting seeping through a door left ajar can have a negative effect.
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