00:00This science study might make you take a second look at the simple glow in your bedroom.
00:04We tend to think of artificial light as a friend that helps us read a book at night,
00:09scroll through our phones, or binge watch that latest series.
00:12But scientists in Boston have just revealed something startling.
00:16The glowing lights that keep our homes comfortable at night
00:19may quietly be raising our risk for serious heart problems.
00:23Let's break down what the researchers have discovered.
00:26In a study, more than 400 adults, none of whom had existing heart conditions,
00:32underwent high-tech brain and artery scans at Massachusetts General Hospital.
00:37Now, researchers then combined those scans with satellite data
00:41showing how bright the night skies were around each participant's home.
00:45The results?
00:46Well, people exposed to more artificial light at night
00:49showed greater stress activity in their brains,
00:52more inflammation in their blood vessels,
00:55and a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease over the next decade.
01:00The numbers here are eye-opening.
01:02Just one standard deviation increase in nighttime light exposure
01:06translated to a 35% higher risk of heart disease over 5 years.
01:11Over a 10-year period, that was still a 22% higher risk,
01:16even after accounting for other factors like air and noise pollution
01:20and other socioeconomic status.
01:22So how does your bedroom lamp or city street lights
01:26sneaking through the curtains actually damaging your heart?
01:30Well, the answer lies in stress pathways.
01:32When your brain detects artificial light at times,
01:35it expects darkness.
01:36It activates stress signals.
01:38This can spark an immune response,
01:40causing inflammation in your blood vessels.
01:42Now, over time, those inflamed vessels can harden,
01:46ultimately raising your risk of heart attack and stroke.
01:49In fact, the more light you are exposed to at night,
01:52the higher your risk and the pattern appears almost linear.
01:56Worse still, these risks are amplified
01:59if you also live with other stressors like heavy traffic noise
02:02or in lower-income areas.
02:05Now, in the study, 17% of the participants
02:07developed major heart issues over 10 years,
02:10and artificial nighttime light was firmly linked to those outcomes.
02:15Now, you may be wondering, is this the final word?
02:18Well, not quite.
02:20The scientists stress that their work is observational,
02:23and in other words, it finds a strong link,
02:25but it doesn't prove that light is causing heart disease on its own.
02:30But what's clear is that light pollution
02:32is already as much a threat to our cardiovascular health
02:37as air or noise pollution.
02:38The American Heart Association recently issued a statement
02:42reinforcing the idea that exposure to night light
02:46disrupts our body clocks and raises our risk of heart disease,
02:50even at low levels.
02:52So what can you do?
02:54Well, experts recommend dimming indoor lighting,
02:57installing blackout curtains,
02:59and putting away screens in the hour before bed.
03:02Cities, too, can help by reducing unnecessary outdoor lighting.
03:07The takeaway, well, something as ordinary as your bedroom glow
03:12really can have extraordinary effects on your health.
03:15Maybe it's time to rethink the way we illuminate our nights
03:19for the sake of our hearts.
Comments