Do you sleep in the dark
Do you sleep in the dark or do you keep the lights on? A new study that has been released has shown a startling correlation in older Americans between the light level when we sleep and our long-term healthcare outcomes. These findings can influence your statistical likelihood to be overweight, have hypertension, and have diabetes.
In people aged 63 to 84 years, those who were exposed to any quantity of light while sleeping in the evening were substantially most likely to be overweight, have hypertension, and have diabetes compared to adults who were not exposed to any light throughout the night, according to information from a Northwestern Medicine research study released on June 22 in the medical journal SLEEP. In the real-world research study, private investigators utilized wrist-worn devices to determine and track light direct exposure over 7 days.
“Whether it be from one’s smartphone, leaving a TV on overnight or light pollution in a big city, we live among an abundant number amount of artificial sources of light that are available 24 hours of a day,” Minjee Kim, MD, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and physician at Northwestern Medicine, said in a statement. “Older adults already are at higher risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so we wanted to see if there was a difference in frequencies of these diseases related to light exposure at night.”
The outcomes revealed that less than half of the 552 people in the research study regularly had a 5-hour duration of total darkness daily. The remainder of the people were exposed to some light, even throughout their darkest 5-hour durations of the day, which were normally in the middle of their sleep.
Because of the nature of the research study, detectives did not know whether diabetes, high blood pressure, and weight problems trigger people to sleep with the light on or whether the light added to the advancement of these conditions.
People with the previous conditions might be most likely to utilize the restroom with the light on in the middle of another factor or the night to have the light on. A specific with foot numbness due to their diabetes might leave the light on to decrease the threat of falls.
Investigators are considering an intervention study to test whether a restoration of natural light-dark cycles improves health outcomes including cognition.
“It’s important for people to avoid or minimize the amount of light exposure during sleep,” Phyllis Zee, MD, PhD, chief of sleep medicine at Feinberg and a Northwestern Medicine physician, said in a statement according to Eurekalert.
According to the study’s abstract, Light at night (LAN): “exposure was associated with a higher prevalence of obesity (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.82 (95% CI 1.26-2.65)), diabetes (OR 2.00 (1.19-3.43)), and hypertension (OR 1.74 (1.21-2.52)) but not with hypercholesterolemia. LAN was also associated with (1) later timing of lowest light exposure (L5-light) and lowest activity (L5-activity), (2) lower inter-daily stability and amplitude of light exposure and activity, and (3) higher wake after sleep onset. Habitual LAN in older age is associated with concurrent obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Further research is needed to understand long-term effects of LAN on cardiometabolic risks.”
Dr. Zee provided ideas to minimize light throughout sleep, that included:
- Keeping the lights off or having a dim light on closer to the flooring;
- Utilizing amber or red/orange light instead of blue or white light when sleeping;
- And utilizing blackout drapes or eye masks, if required, to decrease the quantity of light.
- Move your bed so the outdoor light isn’t shining on your face.
The people in the research study were registered in the Chicago Heart Association Detection job in Industry, which is a public health program and epidemiologic research study carried out to determine people at high threat for cardiovascular disease in offices throughout the Chicago, Illinois location. Even more, investigators included an in-depth evaluation of recognized threat aspects for heart problem.
Pharmacies and Pharmacy techs are in a unique position to work with sleep deprived patients with prescription as well as Over-The-Counter treatment options. For chronic patients there are emerging options to support them with the assistance of a Specialty Pharmaceutical Distributor like Apotheca, Inc. If your practice or pharmacy deals with sleepless patients extensively, make sure you reach out to Apotheca today.
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Contact us today at Customerservice@apothecainc.com or call us at 602-252-5244