*Lit: A slang used to describe something as exciting or excellent.
So why is light pollution not lit? Light pollution has varying impacts on individuals, our society, our environment, and our biodiversity. Today, we will be exploring the glaring implications of light pollution on individuals.
Over the years, emerging research has increasingly proven that excessive light production leads to negative health impacts on individuals. These health impacts stem from two main reaction pathways – disruption of our human circadian rhythms and the reduced production of melatonin in our bodies.
The circadian cycle controls biological processes in all organisms, including brain wave patterns, hormone production, cell regulation, and other activities. Excess light entering the retina disrupts our circadian cycle and is linked to medical conditions including and not limited to – depression, anxiety, insomnia, and heart diseases. Besides, excessive light production also reduces the production of melatonin in our bodies since melatonin is only produced by our brains during darkness. Reduction in melatonin production hence results in the lack of uninterrupted rest to maintain our body’s biological functions and results in other health problems such as cancer. Cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer are common with increased Light-At-Night (LAN), where a 30-50% increased risk of these cancers was noted amongst LAN samples (Spivey, 2010).
In particular, blue light – the light emitted by our electronic devices and Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), has the most impact on our body’s melatonin production (National Geographic Society, 2019). Compared to other light wavelengths, the highest proportion of blue light is able to reach the back of our retina, reducing melatonin production.
With the prevalence of artificial lighting in our modernised world, it is becoming even harder to steer away from bad lighting. The least an individual could do is to install curtains that block most light from entering, reducing light trespass. One should also reduce the use of electronic devices 1-2 hours before bedtime, to prevent blue light emitted from our devices from disrupting our sleep cycles.
In the next post, we’ll be exploring the other implications of light pollution – see you then!
References
Chepesiuk, R. (2009). Missing the Dark: Health Effects of Light Pollution. Environmental Health Perspectives, [online] 117(1). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627884/
Spivey, A. (2010). LIGHT POLLUTION: Light at Night and Breast Cancer Risk Worldwide. Environmental Health Perspectives, [online] 118(12). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3002207/#:~:text=Several%20studies%20over%20the%20last,that%20require%20hormones%20to%20grow.
National Geographic Society (2019). Light Pollution. [online] National Geographic Society. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/light-pollution/#:~:text=An%20increased%20amount%20of%20light,reduced%20melatonin%20levels%20and%20cancer.