Thursday, March 17, 2022

Light and blood glucose levels

Can the level of light in your bedroom affect your blood glucose (BG) levels? These researchers say yes. 

The study was in only 20 people, so the results would have to be confirmed with more subjects, but it is suggestive. The full text is here. Moderate light exposure is considered to be 100 lux, and "dimly lit" is considered less than 3 lux. This gives some examples of different levels of light.

Most people do turn the lights off, or at least way down, when they sleep, but not everyone has that option. In a crowded home without a lot of spare rooms, one person might need light to study, or someone might want to watch TV when someone else wanted to sleep in that room. Or maybe your bed partner just likes to read in bed before going to sleep. Or maybe you live in an urban environment where outdoor lighting is bright.

Whatever, knowing that light could affect your BG levels might inspire you to keep the light levels as low as possible when you sleep. Our ancestors had only moonlight to sleep in, and even a full moon gives off only 0.1 lux.

So make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible. Well, at least when you're sleeping there.



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