The study, titled "Limiting the impact of light pollution on human health, environment and stellar visibility" by Fabio Falchi, Pierantonio Cinzano, Christopher D. Elvidge, David M. Keith and Abraham Haim, was recently published in the Journal of Environmental Management.
The fact that “white” artificial light (which is actually blue light on the spectrum, emitted at wavelengths of between 440-500 nanometers) suppresses the production of melatonin in the brain’s pineal gland is already known. Also known is the fact that suppressing the production of melatonin, which is responsible, among other things, for the regulation of our biological clock, causes behavior disruptions and health problems.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/dangers-of-exposure-to-white-light
This has fascinating implications for lighting and human health. As the ground breaking book "Lights Out" pointed out, amongst the many changes in human experience over the neolithic period (agricultural products in general, seed oils and vitamin D dis-regulation more specifically), none was more dramatic and few were as recent as having a source of light 24/7. Apparently, the orange color of firelight does not impact our hormonal signalling to the degree that white lights do.
The paleolithic model implies that humans are adapted to an annual cycle of light - longer summer days, when carbohydrates were relatively plentiful, and short winter days, when there may have been virtually no carbohydrate and much less time each day to be active. The implication of that is that we are designed for periods of zero or extremely low carb, and periods of high carb intake. If the system worked right, we would feel 'friskier' in the summer when the carbs are plentiful and we're getting a larger variety and quantity of foods - thus making us prime for reproductive activity at a time which would bring us children in the warm, but not sultry, spring. So summer time may have been a period of vastly higher levels of reproductive hormones, as well as a time when we're primed to eat anything sweet we can get close to, but whatever fat we were able to accumulate would have served us well during fall/winter periods of relatively low activity and scarce food.
How's a model like that useful for us neoliths living in light polluted and carb polluted endless summer?
Try sleeping in zero light and see how it affects you - more and better sleep? Try letting yourself eat more carbs via locally grown sources in the summer - assuming you are not still in the recovery stage of metabolic derangement. Try bringing your carbs down in the winter. Try sleeping more in the winter. Let yourself stay up later in the summer. Try and turn the lights down in the house after sun set. Take a look and see if you can eliminate the white lights altogether after sunset.
These experiments have these things in common: a model suggesting one or all of these interventions may help, nothing to lose, no risk, low cost and potential health benefits.
The fact that “white” artificial light (which is actually blue light on the spectrum, emitted at wavelengths of between 440-500 nanometers) suppresses the production of melatonin in the brain’s pineal gland is already known. Also known is the fact that suppressing the production of melatonin, which is responsible, among other things, for the regulation of our biological clock, causes behavior disruptions and health problems.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/dangers-of-exposure-to-white-light
This has fascinating implications for lighting and human health. As the ground breaking book "Lights Out" pointed out, amongst the many changes in human experience over the neolithic period (agricultural products in general, seed oils and vitamin D dis-regulation more specifically), none was more dramatic and few were as recent as having a source of light 24/7. Apparently, the orange color of firelight does not impact our hormonal signalling to the degree that white lights do.
The paleolithic model implies that humans are adapted to an annual cycle of light - longer summer days, when carbohydrates were relatively plentiful, and short winter days, when there may have been virtually no carbohydrate and much less time each day to be active. The implication of that is that we are designed for periods of zero or extremely low carb, and periods of high carb intake. If the system worked right, we would feel 'friskier' in the summer when the carbs are plentiful and we're getting a larger variety and quantity of foods - thus making us prime for reproductive activity at a time which would bring us children in the warm, but not sultry, spring. So summer time may have been a period of vastly higher levels of reproductive hormones, as well as a time when we're primed to eat anything sweet we can get close to, but whatever fat we were able to accumulate would have served us well during fall/winter periods of relatively low activity and scarce food.
How's a model like that useful for us neoliths living in light polluted and carb polluted endless summer?
Try sleeping in zero light and see how it affects you - more and better sleep? Try letting yourself eat more carbs via locally grown sources in the summer - assuming you are not still in the recovery stage of metabolic derangement. Try bringing your carbs down in the winter. Try sleeping more in the winter. Let yourself stay up later in the summer. Try and turn the lights down in the house after sun set. Take a look and see if you can eliminate the white lights altogether after sunset.
These experiments have these things in common: a model suggesting one or all of these interventions may help, nothing to lose, no risk, low cost and potential health benefits.
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