We often hear about the things that affect our health – diet, exercise, the amount of sleep we get. But what about the amount of light we encounter daily?
According to a study by Flinders University postdoctoral researcher, Daniel Windred, too much light at night and not enough daylight is taking years off of our lives.
Windred and his team collected data from close to 90,000 people in the United Kingdom. Participants were fitted with a light sensing device on their wrist to measure potential health risks. The analysis predicted the risk of dying over the next eight years based on exposure to light.
“We found that people exposed to the brightest nights had a 21-34% higher risk of premature mortality,” Windred told NPR.
Adversely, bright days were associated with lower mortality. Participants with the highest daylight exposure had as much as 34% decreased risk of untimely death. Windred’s research reflects …