Artificial light could be making us prematurely frail
'We used to think of light and darkness as harmless'
![Sleeping while exposed to artificial light could be bad for you](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/04/06/16/pp-sleep-phone-rf-gettyc.jpg)
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
![Louise Thomas](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/louise-thomas.png)
Louise Thomas
Editor
Artificial lighting could be making us frail, withering muscles and making bones more fragile, according to a new study.
Researchers kept mice under a constant light for six months – a torture technique used by the security services around the world.
When the mice were examined, they were found to be suffering from muscle loss and the early signs of osteoporosis, while their immune system appeared as if it was reacting to an infection.
The bottom line, the academics said, was that the natural cycle of day followed by night matters to animals.
Professor Johanna Meijer, of Leiden University Medical Centre in The Netherlands, who led the research, said: “We used to think of light and darkness as harmless or neutral stimuli with respect to health.
“We now realize this is not the case based on accumulating studies from laboratories all over the world, all pointing in the same direction.
“Our study … showed that the absence of environmental rhythms leads to severe disruption of a wide variety of health parameters.”
However a paper about the study, published in the journal Current Biology, reported that the mice recovered after they were switched to natural light.
“The good news is that we subsequently showed that these negative effects on health are reversible when the environmental light-dark cycle is restored,” Professor Meijer said.
The researchers said that light exposure should be taken into consideration, particularly for elderly and vulnerable people.
About 75 per cent of the world’s population is exposed to light during the night and constant light exposure is common in intensive care units. The problem could also affect night-workers.
“Possibly this is not surprising as life evolved under the constant pressure of the light-dark cycle,” Professor Meijer said.
“We seem to be optimized to live under these cycles, and the other side of the coin is that we are now affected by a lack of such cycles.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments