It is the time of the year when we all start decking our halls with Christmas decorations and lights. As much as these twinkling lights may boost your holiday spirit, they can also very negatively affect your physical health in the long run.
Well-lit areas make us feel safe and better, but science shows that light affects our sleep and rest. Light perceived by the eyes can have a larger effect on the brain than most people realize. When surrounded by bright cool light, our eyes send messages to our brain to suppress melatonin and release cortisol, which promotes our wakefulness and makes us unable to rest properly. While this is great in the daytime, it might disturb the circadian rhythm at night as Christmas lights blaze in our homes and streets.
The effect on our sleep is that we are unable to sleep even when we may feel tired. This has a major impact on children since they are more sensitive to light than adults when it comes to its influence on their sleep.
Many symptoms and health issues can occur as a result of melatonin deprivation, but the most obvious and noticeable is sleeping problems. However, you may also see other problems such as hypertension and depression. If this deprivation remains over a long period, you may have a higher risk of serious diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
There are also people affected by light-sensitive disorders, and their suffering at Christmas time could be higher. Photosensitive epilepsy or migraine in which bright or flashing lights can induce episodes. A person with vestibular balance problems or a motion sensitivity condition might be further adversely affected by the movement of the lighting.
The holidays may be full of bright lights, but that does not mean that you have to sacrifice your sleep till Santa shows up to bring you presents. The experts recommend that you turn off all of your Christmas lights, and any other lights in your house, half an hour before going to bed in order to allow your body to produce enough melatonin for you to sleep well. Rather than using blue-enriched lights to light up your home and buildings at night, opt for warm, dim, static lights to create a cozy atmosphere that does not hurt your eyes or brain while creating a cozy atmosphere.
Furthermore, when your brain is exposed to natural light during the early morning hours, cortisol is released and melatonin is suppressed during the daytime, which helps to mitigate the circadian rhythm disorder. By emulating dynamic sunlight characteristics, KUMUX Lighting is able to provide the right light setting at the right time of the day, when indoors, allowing users to balance their circadian rhythms.
So take care of the lighting you receive to take care of your health and enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends.
