Studies have shown that one of the biggest sleep disruptors is “light pollution.”.
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Complete darkness is needed to produce the sleep hormone, melatonin.
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Light pollution prevents the hypothalamus from recovering and “rebooting” during sleep.
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The surface of the eye has special nerve cells that respond to light and control the desire to sleep.
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Until there was artificial light, humans had a precise circadian rhythm, falling asleep when it got dark outside and waking up when it became light.
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The term 'zeitgeber' describes environmental cues that help us engage in the 24-hour cycle.
Light is a zeitgeber that signals the brain to stay awake.
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Even a night light, a few candles or a full moon shining through a window can disrupt the production of melatonin and affect sleep, which can lead to various illnesses.
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Studies have shown that heart disease, and cognitive abilities have been affected by lack of sleep.
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Disruption in circadian rhythms caused by light contributes to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
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The blue light from electronic gadgets also disrupts sleep, as shown by a children’s sleep physiologist.
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Studies have shown that schoolchildren getting up before sunrise increases the likelihood of impaired immunity due to a disruption in their sleep patterns.
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Various electronic devices, which emit a bluish glow that disrupts the body's internal biological clock, are particularly harmful.
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A study showed that a full moon did not significantly shorten the amount of time volunteers slept than during a new moon.
The study also showed that sleep is synchronized with lunar phases.
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Moreover, people in cities due to street lights were more likely not to get enough sleep and had less quality sleep than people in small towns.
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A simple solution to block artificial light is to not use devices and dim lights before sleep.
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and put up blackout curtains.
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Warning: these questons and answers are not all representative of the way questions will be asked and answered in the pilot, because some questions are compound and some answers do not include citations.

Q: How does the exposure to light pollution disrupt sleep?
A: It disrupts the circadian rhythm and the production of melatonin [1a06dca2-c06e-47f8-b2d0-6478b88e7baa]

Q: What diseases does disruption to circadian rhythms lead to?
A: cardiovascular, cognitive, and metabolic diseases; stroke and heart attacks. [1ecae6fe-e85c-4c8a-95fa-997b25180b1d, b260425f-6928-474e-a333-2c50747380d7]

Q: What are the mechanics behind how light disrupts sleep?
A: Light disrupts the sleep hormone, melatonin. Light pollution prevents the hypothalamus, which is responsible for memory, control of emotions and memorization of information, from fully recovering and “rebooting” at night. [8b8d884f-6030-443c-b19e-fc3bdde57d0e, 1ecae6fe-e85c-4c8a-95fa-997b25180b1d, 80e5f9f8-9c1a-4b7f-9d26-c33dad5d6bf9]A: The surface of the eye has special nerve cells that respond to lighting and control the desire to sleep. [c3809dbd-679d-4c89-8516-8f06cc95aae5]

Q: How does light pollution affect children?
A: As indicated by a children’s sleep physiologist. schoolchildren getting up before sunrise increase the likelihood of impaired immunity due to a disruption in their sleep patterns. [b3e8e015-ab48-413c-a87a-ca6ce9931cd5, 80e5f9f8-9c1a-4b7f-9d26-c33dad5d6bf9]

Q: How is light a “zeitgeber”?
A: The term 'zeitgeber' ('time giver’) means environmental cues that help us engage in the 24-hour cycle. Light is a zeitgeber that signals the brain to stay awake. [1ecae6fe-e85c-4c8a-95fa-997b25180b1d]

Q: Is there a certain amount of light pollution that is acceptable and why?
A: No, even a night light or a full moon can affect sleep, although artificial light is the greater disrupter [f296be7f-6052-483a-9fa1-c8da8208d422]

Q: What is the difference of the impact between artificial and natural light?
A: People are synchronized with lunar phases, however artificial light stimulates being awake when people tend to need sleep - such as waking before sunrise. [f296be7f-6052-483a-9fa1-c8da8208d422, 18a4a5ef-83ad-4560-a89c-73dad6913185, 80e5f9f8-9c1a-4b7f-9d26-c33dad5d6bf9]

Q: What does “blue light” do?
A: Particularly harmful are the screens of various electronic devices, which emit a bluish glow that disrupts the body's internal biological clock. [a04b4c6e-b858-4d48-860e-8a77ca9378f9]

Q: How does the lunar cycle affect sleep?
A: A study showed that on a full moon, volunteers did not sleep a significantly shorter amount of time than during a new moon, but still had an impact on their sleep. The study also showed that sleep is synchronized with lunar phases. [18a4a5ef-83ad-4560-a89c-73dad6913185]

Q: Are urban residents affected more than rural and how?
A: Yes, urban residents usually face stronger street lights than rural residents [1ecae6fe-e85c-4c8a-95fa-997b25180b1d]

Q: How does one combat light pollution in order to sleep?
A: Avoid electronic devices and bright lights before sleep, and put up heavy blinds on windows [1ecae6fe-e85c-4c8a-95fa-997b25180b1d, 2da995ac-8924-45a7-a334-030618511a6a]