Using smartphones, tablets and any device that generates light, especially blue light, at night can make us seriously ill in the long run, experts say. Because of technology humanity started to suffer from light pollution.
Using smartphones especially at night can cause health problems PHOTO Shutterstock
Electricity and its applications are indispensable in the modern world. Everything works with electricity. There are lights everywhere, on the streets, the bright signs of shops, at home and at work.
Developed cities, in particular, are also lit up at night, almost like during the day. New devices such as computers, televisions or smart phones make us keep our eyes on the light all the time. However, the specialists made a disturbing discovery: light makes us sick, especially at night. Obviously, the effects are long-term. Scientists have defined a new form of pollution: light pollution. Its effects are devastating, from diabetes to cancer or Alzheimer’s.
“Every Photon Counts”
The concept of light pollution took shape in the 50s. Specialists found that intense light at night could affect our health. In the 80s, a global movement was born with the founding of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). In the last two decades, studies on the effects of light pollution have intensified and its harmful effects have been extensively studied. A 2024 study that used satellite data to measure the light pollution of 13,000 homes showed that those who live in brightly lit cities at night are more than 31 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure. great. Another study, conducted in Hong Kong, one of the most illuminated cities at night, revealed that people in areas with high exposure to light pollution have a 29% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Other studies indicate that light pollution, especially from large cities, can increase the risk of aneurysm or stroke by 17%. Light pollution is caused by a harmful combination of intense street lighting, billboards and brightly lit businesses, traffic and nighttime activity. Added to this external light pollution is the light pollution inside homes, caused mainly by all kinds of devices that use blue light. Statistics also show that since 2011, the percentage of city lighting at night has increased by at least 10% every year. Concomitant with this increase in light pollution, studies are multiplying that indicate that bright light at night has devastating consequences on the human body: diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and even infertility. “Every photon counts” John Hanifin, MD and associate director of Thomas Jefferson University’s Light Research Program, told webmed.
“Blue light” the enemy of our health, at night
Until the industrial age, i.e. the 19th century, people used to sleep in two stages. The first of these started in the evening, after dark, i.e. around 7-8 pm in the winter and 9-10 pm in the summer. Around 1:00 AM, there was a wake period in which people woke up. After an hour of wakefulness, sleep was continued until around 5-6 in the morning. With the lighting of homes, but especially with the appearance of sources of free time, such as radio or television, sleep in two stages disappeared.
People stay up late and use artificial light to continue their activities even after dark. In the digital age, the abundance of gadgets, the presence of the Internet in all homes and corners of the world, keep people more and more in front of screens with blue light, during the night.
If the use of smartphones, tablets, laptops or computers during the day is not necessarily a problem, obviously if there is no excessive use, during the night it can lead to serious complications for the body. The first of these is sleep disturbance. Exposure to blue light at night affects the production of melatonin, a very important hormone that has the role of alternating the state of wakefulness with that of sleep. Disruption of melatonin production leads to sleep disorders such as insomnia and disruption of circadian cycles. In the long term, this disruption of circadian cycles, as a consequence of repeated exposure to blue light at night before bed, leads to serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer or cognitive dysfunction.
How light pollution can make us sick
Light pollution, which has become an increasingly serious problem in the digital age, whether we are talking about outdoor lighting, indoor lighting or the blue light of devices, can cause particularly serious problems in the long term.
For example, Randy Nelson, a physician and neuroscientist at West Virginia University says that there is a very close connection between light pollution and the increased risk of blood cancer. He participated in a study of over 100,000 teachers in California, regarding the impact of light pollution on the body. The results indicated that women who lived in areas with high light pollution had a 12% higher risk of developing breast cancer.
The risks produced by light pollution are 2% higher than those caused by ultra-processed foods, the same study shows. At the same time, long-term exposure to light during the night, shows a recent study, carries greater risks of disease than alcohol consumption or obesity. In addition, research has shown that nighttime lighting, whether outdoors or indoors, disrupts circadian cycles, increases inflammation in the body, affects cell division, and suppresses melatonin known as the “hormone of darkness.”
Another study, this time from China, indicates that people living in the most illuminated areas have a 28% higher risk of diabetes. Chinese scientists say more than 9 million Chinese suffer from diabetes due to light pollution.
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