When it comes to “sleeping well”, we all have our little tricks: a warmer or cooler bedroom, a harder or softer pillow, a weighted duvet, food supplements, hypnosis, cardiac coherence or sophrology…
To have a good sleep while protecting our health, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (in the United States) give us valuable advice: sleep in complete darkness.
No lights in the bedroom at night to (among other things) reduce the risk of diabetes
In a new study published on March 14, 2022 in the specialized journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)the American researchers explain that “Sleeping for just one night in a moderately lit bedroom may impair blood sugar regulation (i.e. blood sugar levels) and cardiovascular function, thus increasing the risk of diabetes, disease cardiac and metabolic syndrome“.
Moreover, according to the researchers, exposure to light during sleep would also increase the risk of overweight and obesity. “Even if you feel like you “sleep well” with light in your bedroom, there is an impact on your brain: your sleep is not restful enough, which is bad for your health.“
The American researchers therefore advise closing the shutters and curtains at bedtime, as well as tracking down all artificial “little lights” that could harm health: “if you can clearly see the outlines of your furniture at night, your bedroom is probably too bright” say the scientists.
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