Herbie Murray
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark and be active during the day when it is light. Our bodies still operate on a caveman level, meaning that artificial lighting isn't considered in the decision to sleep. Chemicals that make you sleepy build up in your brain over the day until you go to sleep at night and your brain gets rid of them all. Another chemical wakes you up and stimulates you, triggered by bright light, especially blue light. Exposure to light while sleeping can disrupt your body's internal clock, your circadian rhythm, and its ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night | When it is dark |
| Chemicals that make you sleepy build up in your brain over the day | They are released at night when it is dark |
| Artificial lighting simulates sunlight | This signals to your body that it is daytime and not time to sleep |
| Our bodies still operate on a caveman level | Artificial lighting is not considered in the decision to sleep |
| Exposure to light while sleeping can disrupt your body's internal clock | This affects your body's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene |
| Exposure to light while sleeping can lead to an increased nighttime heart rate | |
| Sleeping in a dark environment has been linked to better metabolic health |
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What You'll Learn
- Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night, when it's dark, and be active during the day, when it's light
- Artificial lighting simulates sunlight, which signals to your body that it's daytime and not time to sleep
- Light affects the body's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene
- Exposure to light while sleeping can lead to an increased nighttime heart rate
- Other species have adapted to living in the dark, but humans do not have the same traits, such as a tapetum lucidum layer in the eye
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night, when it's dark, and be active during the day, when it's light
Chemicals that make you sleepy build up in your brain over the day until you go to sleep at night and your brain gets rid of them. There is another chemical that wakes you up and stimulates you, which is triggered by bright light, especially blue-coloured light, that historically would only have come from the sun. Artificial lighting simulates sunlight, which signals to your body that it is daytime and not time to sleep.
This is also true of other species, which have adapted to living in the dark. They have traits that humans don't have, such as a tapetum lucidum layer in their eyes that reflects back an additional amount of light inside their eyes, letting them see better in the dark.
According to the National Institutes of Health, even a sliver of light in your bedroom can disrupt your circadian rhythm, your body's internal clock, that tells your body when to rest and when to rise. It also affects your body's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene, boosting your mood and immune system, improving brain and eye health, and decreasing your risk of diabetes.
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Artificial lighting simulates sunlight, which signals to your body that it's daytime and not time to sleep
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark and be active during the day when it is light. Artificial lighting simulates sunlight, which signals to your body that it is daytime and not time to sleep.
Our bodies are still operating as if it were a time when the only available light was the sun. So we sleep at night because it's the time when we are the least effective and also because we need to be awake and rested when the sun is out so we can maximise our potential to gather food and survive.
Chemicals that make you sleepy build up in your brain over the day until you go to sleep at night and your brain gets rid of them all. There is another chemical as well that wakes you up and stimulates you. It is triggered by bright light (especially blue-coloured light) that historically would be only from the sun.
According to the National Institutes of Health, even a sliver of light in your bedroom can disrupt your circadian rhythm, your body's internal clock, that (silently) tells your body when to rest and when to rise. It also affects your body's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene, boosting your mood and immune system, improving brain and eye health, and decreasing your risk of diabetes.
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Light affects the body's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for good sleep hygiene
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark and be active during the day when it is light. Artificial lighting simulates sunlight, which signals to our bodies that it is daytime and not time to sleep.
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Exposure to light while sleeping can lead to an increased nighttime heart rate
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark. Artificial lighting can confuse our bodies, which are still operating as if the only available light was the sun. This can disrupt our body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, which tells our body when to rest and when to rise.
According to Biquan Luo, MD, a sleep expert with Lumos, "Exposure to light while sleeping can lead to an increased nighttime heart rate and decreased heart rate variability, while sleeping in a dark environment has been linked to better metabolic health as it reduces next-morning insulin resistance."
In addition, chemicals that make us sleepy build up in our brain over the day until we go to sleep at night and our brain gets rid of them all. There is another chemical that wakes us up and stimulates us, which is triggered by bright light, especially blue-coloured light.
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Other species have adapted to living in the dark, but humans do not have the same traits, such as a tapetum lucidum layer in the eye
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark. Chemicals that make us sleepy build up in our brains over the day until we go to sleep at night and our brains get rid of them. There is another chemical that wakes us up and stimulates us, which is triggered by bright light, especially blue light. Artificial lighting can trick our bodies into thinking it is daytime, which is why it can be harder to sleep with the lights on.
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Frequently asked questions
Humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep at night when it is dark. Artificial lighting confuses our bodies, which are still operating as if the only available light was the sun.
Sleeping in the dark helps to maintain our body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, which tells our body when to rest and when to rise.
Exposure to light stimulates the production of chemicals in our brain that wake us up and make us active.
Sleeping in the dark has been linked to better metabolic health and improved brain and eye health. It also boosts our mood and immune system, and decreases our risk of diabetes.
Some species have evolved to sleep in the dark. They have traits that humans don't have, such as a tapetum lucidum layer in their eyes that reflects back an additional amount of light, allowing them to see better in the dark.
