What are the disadvantages of sleeping with the lights on

In our daily life, we have the habit of turning off the lights before going to bed. We need a comfortable and quiet environment to fall asleep peacefully. Turning off the lights is to create a quiet environment so that the brain can relax and fall asleep peacefully. When the lights are turned off, the room will be in a quiet and dark state. Only then will the brain get a rest and people can fall asleep. So what are the disadvantages of not turning off the lights when sleeping? Let us now take a look at the disadvantages of not turning off the lights when sleeping.

[Falling asleep with the light as a pillow, depression lingers]

A research team at Ohio State University recently discovered that falling asleep with light, even very dim light, is enough to make hamsters depressed.

The researchers used female Siberian hamsters for the experiment and divided them into two groups. One group had normal day and night (8 hours), while the other group was exposed to dim light every night - very dim, about the same brightness as when you fall asleep on the sofa late at night and forget to turn off the TV.

As a result, after 8 weeks, the hamsters that were exposed to dim light every night showed obvious depressive behaviors, one of which was that they no longer liked to drink sugar water as much as before. In other words, they were no longer interested in life.

[Light reduces melatonin and affects the hippocampus]

Why is this happening? What exactly has changed?

To reduce variables, the researchers had removed the uteruses of all the hamsters beforehand (poor hamsters), so the depression in the female mice was definitely not caused by estrogen. So scientists focused their attention on the hamster's brain. They found that hamsters exposed to continuous dim light had significant changes in the hippocampus of their brains.

The function of the hippocampus is mainly to manage recent memory. Just like the memory of a computer, it is responsible for maintaining memories within a few weeks for quick access. Similarly, the hippocampus plays a very critical role in the occurrence of depression.

Why does light cause changes in the hippocampus in hamsters' brains? Researchers believe that this is related to the reduced secretion of melatonin in animals under the influence of light. The function of melatonin is to convey the message "it's dark, time to go to bed" to the animal body. It is its reduction that causes changes in the hippocampus. Scientists are conducting further research on the specific relationship between the two.

[Sleeping with the light on will make you fat]

There are actually quite a lot of studies on sleeping with the lights on. Prior to this study, a group of scientists conducted experiments on male mice and found that continuous, strong light exposure while sleeping at night could make them depressed. Now this study has shown that even weak light can make mice depressed. This is bad because when we sleep, we are easily exposed to some light, such as street lights outside or the television at home.

In addition to depression, girls who want to lose weight should also pay attention. Studies have shown that sleeping under light for a long time can also

Can make you gain weight.

From the experiments on mice, although the overall food intake of mice that sleep with dim light at night is not more than that of mice that sleep in the dark, in the long run, they prefer to eat more at night. Scientists believe that this factor may affect their metabolism and make them fat.

It seems that the old lady's words to tease the child, "Light up the lights to talk, turn off the lights to sleep", actually contain such amazing common sense. So, modern people, please pay attention. When you go to bed at night, in addition to turning off the TV and lights, you should also draw the curtains, and it is best to add a layer of blackout curtains. This can not only effectively reduce peeping, but also block the street lights outside the window. After all, female hamsters are so prone to depression. Who knows if women are more sensitive than hamsters? It is always better to take precautions before they happen.

The above article describes in detail the disadvantages of not turning off the lights when sleeping. In daily life, everyone should pay attention to their physical health. Turning off the lights when sleeping at night is to provide a quiet environment for the human brain, so that people can relax and fall asleep peacefully. After turning off the lights, the room will be darker and the environment will be very quiet. This state is very suitable for sleep.