Should one sleep with the lights turned on? Problems and Solutions

Spread the love

Last Updated on 2 months by Francis

Contents

Sleeping With Any Lights Is Detrimental to Health

First of all, it is important to find a spot in your room that is not near a window or any other source of light.

This way you can avoid the distraction of any external lighting.

A lot of times, when you go to bed at night, you want to switch off all lighting except for your moonlight and your own lighting.

If you have a room with multiple windows, this may not be possible, depending on how big the windows are and how bright they are.

In order to minimize the possible chance of having light shining onto your body at night, you should try to turn off the lights at your headboard or at the very least, have them on a low level.

Another thing to consider is the actual position in which you are going to sleep.

  • Some people actually like to sleep in a raised position.
  • In this case, having your head elevated and using a ceiling fan as additional lighting will help to ensure that you sleep in a comfortable position.
  • Of course, if you like to lay down and read in bed, you should also try to lay down flat on your back rather than in a raised position.
  • This will prevent the possibility of you bumping your head into something that will cause you to wake up at night.
  • Many people have a problem with waking up with a glare in their eyes when they are using overhead lighting in a room.
  • This is simply due to the fact that the lighting in a room will add reflections to the glass in which your eyes are viewing the screen.
  • In order to eliminate this problem, you should invest in a pair of prescription glasses.
  • You should also make sure that your room is well-lit from ceiling to floor, as this will minimize the possibility of you being subjected to glare while you are trying to sleep at night.
  • As previously mentioned, it is also important that you select the type of light that you are using in your bedroom.
  • When it comes to selecting the type of light to use in a room, you should generally avoid any type of lighting that casts a shadow over the side of your body.
  • This includes using any type of overhead light in your room at night.
  • Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as if you are planning to watch a movie during the middle of the night.
  • If you do use an overhead light in the room at night, you should make sure that the light is not directly behind where you are sleeping.
  • For example, if you are sitting in the bed, try to place the light behind you. If you have a book open on your bed, you should not have the light directly shine onto the book or the cover.
  • Instead, try to angle the light so that it cast shadows on the pages of the book rather than directly on you.

Not Getting Enough Quality Sleep Can Lead to Numerous Health Problems

Do you know that what we are doing to ourselves when not getting enough quality sleep can lead to numerous health problems?

The short answer is – we’re not getting enough quality sleep.

As a society, we sleep eight or more hours per night, but many of us don’t realize how this could affect us long term.

We all know that our bodies need to be rested and refreshed, but many of us don’t realize the detrimental effects of poor sleep can have on us.

  • For example, many of us turn to smoking and drinking to calm us down in the afternoons, but this afternoons could actually be an extension of the hours we spent asleep.
  • When we are stressed out, our bodies release chemicals similar to those of stress itself, which can cause a number of health issues including weight gain, headaches, and depression.
  • We all know that alcohol can help relieve stress, but it also increases our chances of developing health problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
  • Smoking not only increases our chances of developing these ailments, but it can also lead to serious lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis.
  • In fact, if you smoke for an extended period of time, you could even suffer from cancer or heart disease.

Other ways in which poor sleep can affect us include developing unhealthy relationships with other people, forgetting important tasks during the day, staying up way past bedtime, and becoming easily frustrated and bored.

Not only are these things physical problems but they can lead to psychological ones as well.

If we’re unable to sleep properly, our moods will suffer and this could lead to depression or irritability.

All of these things can seriously impact our quality of life, and we all can see how the situation could become dire if not solved quickly.

Sleeping With Lights On Can Lead To Depression

When you are sleeping with the lights on, you tend to stare at the ceiling as if trying to see the sky.

When we sleep, the body shuts off all non-essential electrical activity and just recuperates.

So if you have your eyes closed, staring at the ceiling is not going to do you any good. The proper thing to do is try to look out the window where you can see your house clearly.

Depression is a state of mind that we enter into from time to time. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere.

Other times it can be triggered by something stressful or traumatic happening in our lives.

Either way, it is always there if you let it be. There is an old saying that goes like this: “If you want to make yourself happy, work for it”, and this perfectly fits into this, as well.

Depression happens when you don’t take action on anything. It can come out of nowhere or even be a long term recurring feeling.

People who are sleeping with the lights on often don’t even realize that they are depressed. They might notice signs of being down or not feeling right most of the time.

When you start to notice changes in how you act and communicate, you might be approaching a deep depression.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=U9vq00vIYaE

Can Sleep With Lights On Lead To Obesity?

But did you know that even when we go to bed at night, our bodies still retain traces of the light that shone through them at day time?

This is because, when we sleep at night, our brains receive impulses from our nervous system, which then transfer information to the body’s muscle tissue in the form of electrochemical signals.

  • And if we do not sleep well, or if we are unable to get a full night’s rest, these signals stay in the body and stimulate it to work overtime to repair the damage that has been done during the day.
  • Thus, we find that not only does the light from the television set or the computer cause disruptions in our sleep patterns; it also may lead to obesity.
  • Indeed, obesity has become a major health concern in today’s world and even more so when one takes into account all the family reasons for obesity.
  • Children that are sleeping with lights on during the night tend to have lower IQs and a higher risk of becoming an overweight child in their teens, and this risk of becoming obese will only grow as the child enters puberty pushes that little body of yours even farther up its own stomach.
  • And if you do not sleep well at night, your body will try to compensate for this lack of rest by telling your brain that you are tired and need to take some sort of nap, thus, keeping your brain running while you are tossing and turning at night in order to make up for the deficit of sleep that it received during the day.
  • And this is why that obesity risk is greater if you are sleeping with lights on.
  • Well, first and foremost, you must avoid sleeping with any light on, whether they are in your bedroom bathroom or anywhere else.
  • This could lead to a number of different problems such as: light allergy, eye strain, and nosebleeds.
  • Next, keep an eye on what you eat and drink before going to bed, and especially before sleeping.
  • Certain foods and drinks can have a negative effect on the body and consuming them late at night can lead to weight gain if you are not careful.
See also  Latest Red light therapy research 2021 | Update & New advances

Why Sleeping With Lights On Can Lead To Less Mental Alertness

Sleeping with lights on can lead to less mental alertness. The reason I mention this is because when you go to bed at night and switch your light switches off, you don’t get the sleep you are used to getting.

  • You wake up feeling drowsy and very lethargic.
  • This is because the brain is being deprived of the natural evening glow that it gets from natural sleep.
  • When you are sleeping, you should try to avoid having any activities that use up your brain’s energy, such as playing video games or watching TV.
  • These activities use up a lot of brain cells and slows down the body.
  • Also try to avoid drinking caffeine drinks before going to bed.
  • Caffeine does the same thing. It also makes you feel more drowsy after you wake up.
  • Try to keep your bedroom dark and cool.
  • A dark room keeps your brain from absorbing ambient light.
  • This is why it is suggested that you sleep with lights off if you live in an area where it’s dark outside.
  • Also keep the room temperature cool and make sure there is no too much air pollution.

Keep your bedroom well ventilated as it keeps your brain from absorbing toxins from the air.

Can Sleep With Lights on Can Lead to High Blood Pressure?

If you have a room that you never use, and if it is possible for you to turn off all the lights, you can use this to your advantage and lower your blood pressure.

  • The idea is that when we are sleeping, our body relaxes and there is a drop in pressure at the heart.
  • Some people argue that turning off the lights actually increases the risk of having a stroke, and that is a fear that should not be put into light.
  • But the reality is that there are many studies that show that people who are able to sleep well, and who have white light bulbs, tend to have lower blood pressure than people who are living with a constant light on in their bedroom.
  • If you can afford to keep the lights off, and you are able to get to sleep whenever you want, then this can be an option that you should look at.
  • Another thing that people often wonder about is whether or not it is dangerous to sleep with lights on at night.

The answer to this question is not quite as simple as one would think. It seems to depend upon the type of lighting in the bedroom, and whether or not you sleep in an open or closed space.

Those who sleep in rooms that are open have a much higher risk of having high blood pressure because of the fact that there is more ambient light coming through.

Those who sleep in rooms that are closed tend to have a lower blood pressure because they spend more time in darkness.

People who choose to go to bed at night are more likely to have a problem with high blood pressure, especially if they like to read in the dark.

Sleeping With Lights On Can Lead To Heart Disease

Researchers believe that people who are regularly exposed to the dangers of high energy electronic devices while they are sleeping are at a much greater risk of developing cardiac problems.

These devices can produce both audio and visual distractions, such as strobe, radio, TV and DVD players, computer screens and other display devices.

These constant visual stimuli can lead to a person’s brain, not focusing on the task at hand, which in turn can lead to a lack of concentration.

When a person is not focused their reaction time is decreased, which can be problematic in a society where being on time is critical to employment and daily living.

Although we cannot take away the lighting that we use while we sleep, we can take steps that will decrease our risk for cardiovascular disease.

First, it is important to establish a good bedtime routine that can include sleeping, bathing and brushing your teeth.

This is a necessary part of a daily routine because it allows your body time to relax and wind down.

Once you are done with all of your relaxation rituals you can then begin to establish a regular sleeping and waking pattern.

If your routine is interrupted by lights that are in the way of your sleep, or if you are uncomfortable with the illumination from these lights, you may want to consider either changing the lighting that you are using or ensuring that these lights are not near your head when you are trying to sleep.

In conclusion, while this article has focused on the health aspects of the subject of how sleeping with lights on can lead to heart disease, it should be made clear that this is not intended to scare anyone from using this type of lighting.

The data provided here indicates only possible risks that can occur.

Sleeping With Lights On Can Lead to Type 2 Diabetes

If you do not have control of your diabetes and you are constantly awakening at night because you cannot seem to fall asleep, you need to ask yourself if you should be sleeping with lights on.

If you are a smoker or have had a drink, this could be a cause for concern. Even if you drink one small glass of wine at bedtime, it might be enough to send you off to sleep at night.

Even though the dangers are great, there are solutions that will help you sleep well at night without causing any problems.

If you smoke, smoking is an easy habit to get into and even though it may help you to last a couple of hours, it can lead to issues in the long run.

Sleeping with light on can lead to many different health risks including high blood pressure, poor circulation and diabetes.

Of course, diabetes is no laughing matter and over time, it can damage any nerve in your body and make it very hard to have a quality night’s sleep.

Diabetes is a serious disease and you do not want it any part of your life.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=w4KtiEBqX7U

Disruptive Lighting Can Ruin Your Rest

Sleeping with lights on will disrupt normal body repair function, and will cause you to wake up often, and feel extremely uncomfortable.

Waking up from a dream without the chance to get back to sleep because of a light shining in your eyes is a very annoying thing.

If you’re not going to be able to fall back asleep every night while the TV plays non stop then it is a must that you remove these lights from your bedroom before you go to bed.

  • Our body is designed to heal itself when we are asleep, and it does this by allowing all of our cells to regenerate.
  • Without a way for your body to repair itself during sleep then we will be constantly tired and can’t function as well.
  • Our eyes need to be able to repair themselves each night too, and if we don’t have lighting then our eyesight will be very poor.
  • It is best to remove all of your electrical cords from your bedroom, so that you can sleep without any distractions.
  • Another thing to try is to take several deep breaths when you start to feel a bit drowsy.
  • Try to do this several times each day and you should notice an improvement in your overall body repair.

We need to be able to repair our body and our cells if we’re going to be able to function correctly the next day.

Waking up several times in the middle of the night not remembering how to get back to sleep is very common, and something that you definitely want to avoid.

Sleep right through the night, and the next morning you will wake up fully restored and ready to face the day ahead.

Sleeping With Lights On Will Disrupt Muscle Recovery

If you do not sleep well for body natural recuperation then it will lead to disruption of muscle recovery after a strenuous workout.

See also  Unveiling Yujiro Hanma's Power - How Strong Is He?

This is something that everyone can appreciate, whether you are an athlete trying to get a few more hours of sleep in.

Sleeping With Lights On – Could It Be Dangerous For Your Immune System?

I’m sure you’ve heard that sleeping with lights on can possibly wreak havoc on your immune system, and even cause cancer.

Well, this is simply not true.

Although there have been several studies done about the effects of sleep on various different aspects of the human body, very little has been said about the effect of sleep on the immune system.

This is a very strange anomaly, considering that all the other systems in your body are designed to function in a similar way.

One thing that many people don’t realize is that we actually use less than ideal amounts of energy while sleeping, and this is due mainly to the fact that our eyes are closed and we are sleeping fast.

So, if we can’t see, our brains aren’t trying to do anything, and we aren’t thinking, then we aren’t expending the vast amounts of energy that we do naturally.

This fact has been proven by scientists who believe that lack of sunlight during the daytime can drastically reduce the amount of energy that our bodies expend throughout the day.

If our eyes were open, and we could see, then obviously our brains would be working extremely hard.

However, by sleeping with lights on, the amount of energy that our brain utilizes during the day is greatly reduced, and in some individuals, as much as half of their energy can be attributed to using their eyes while sleeping.

The immune system is the first defense mechanism that we have for dealing with infectious agents and dangers.

Without it, we could be subject to all kinds of harmful infections, and diseases. Therefore, our immune system needs to be maintained and built up from a young age.

This is where simple things such as sleeping with lights on can lead to a major downfall in your overall health.

If you don’t have enough sleep, then you won’t be able to maintain an optimal level of health, and in turn, your immune system will not work at its optimal level either.

Sleeping With Lights Off Will Leave You a Headache and Cranky in the Morning

It is a fact that when you sleep with the lights on in your room, it makes you feel like you are awake the whole time.

There are many different reasons why this happens, but one of the biggest reasons why it does happen is because it takes time for your eyes to adjust to the bright light.

It will take some time for the eyes to adjust to the light. When your eyes are not fully adjusted to the light, it will cause you to have a headache in the morning and in the evening as well.

  • Now, when you go to bed at night, you should close all the curtains except for one or two.
  • Then, you should turn the lights off or turn them lower so that your eyes are fully adjusted to the dark.
  • If you do this, it will help you get to sleep faster and you will feel less pain from the lights.
  • Also, if you have very light sleepers, it is going to hurt you more in the mornings when you are getting up and using the restroom than it will in the evenings when you are sleeping.
  • Another thing that you need to do is to start drinking a lot of water when you are going to bed.
  • This is going to help to flush out the bad toxins that are in your body. Also, when your body is not congested, then you are not going to be awake as much.
  • This is something that you can continue to do in the morning and in the afternoon to make sure that you are going to feel refreshed in the morning.

Sleeping With Lights – May Not Get You Into Deep Sleep of Dreams

There is something about sleeping with lights that get you into deep sleep, so to speak.

The effect of low to medium levels of light and darkening aromas when lying in bed can induce feelings of calmness and tranquility that are conducive to dream activity and lucid dreaming.

It is for this very reason that many people, especially those who live in the northern hemisphere, prefer to go to sleep with lighting turned on as opposed to going without any illumination at all.

But is this necessarily a good thing? Can lighting actually help you induce dreams and visions?

Studies have shown that people who get a decent amount of shut eye do sleep better than those who don’t.

A similar study also showed that those who had a difficult time falling asleep or staying asleep actually slept better when lit up for an extended period of time compared to those that were lit up but remained awake.

However, this isn’t really the case. It is important to keep in mind that we are not the only animals that need to be able to relax and get a good night’s rest.

Another part of the body that needs to be rested and lulled to sleep is the pineal gland.

This is the region of your brain that is responsible for dreams and visions.

It has been found that individuals who have had stressful jobs or dream disorders are often times prone to pineal gland related diseases and ailments.

Therefore, if you suffer from this condition, it may not only be a matter of getting enough sleep but also curing yourself of pineal gland related illnesses.

Sleeping With Lights Off – Will Melatonin Consumption Ever Reduce?

It would seem that there is some sort of melatonin produced during our natural sleep cycles.

It would make sense that if we could manipulate our melatonin production we might be able to make sleeping through the night less of a hassle.

Now, I don’t know about you but I have trouble sleeping at night without my alarm clock. I used to rely on my own alarm clock to wake me up in the mornings.

Now, I must depend on my “side-kick” from my husband to get me out of bed in the morning.

While melatonin may not cure insomnia, it could help those who depend on it for their sleep cycles. If you are a person who still craves the security and ease of a full night’s sleep, then maybe melatonin can help.

If you want to know what melatonin is, then the short answer is “a hormone created in the pineal gland.”

The hormone has a profound effect on our sleep cycles and the quality of that sleep.

It helps us to relax and be calm, which is obviously conducive to sleeping.

If we cannot relax and be calm because of lighting, your melatonin production is likely to be affected.

You’ll find that melatonin supplements may help you fall asleep easier and sleep less.

Many people are of the opinion that sleeping with lights will throw off your circadian rhythm, causing you to get out of bed and start the day way early.

Well, whether this is really the case or not depends on your body’s biological clock. It does depend on your body’s internal clock, but it also depends on a number of other factors. Some of these factors are actually outside of your control, like the time of day, where you sleep, and how you sleep.

For instance, if you go to sleep at about the same time every night whether you are sleeping with lights on or not, then you are likely to be very similar to your peers in regards to your biological clock.

What you need to do is maintain the same circadian rhythm no matter what.

For instance, if you are naturally very early a lot, then naturally you will tend to be much more alert in the morning.

But you can make adjustments to this to where you are a bit more relaxed at night, or you might find that by adjusting the time where you go to sleep, that you can actually go to bed later (or earlier) than most people.

And by the same token, if you sleep in late at night or very early in the morning, then you may find that the light in your bedroom isn’t conducive to good sleep at all.

See also  Which Dry Fruits for Good Sleep?

If your problem is one of adjustment, then the answer to “do I sleep better when I’m sleeping with lights on?” is simply to go to a darkened room for the night.

Try it for a few days, and see if it works for you.

Obviously there are some situations where switching from lighting to ambient light would disrupt your circadian rhythm too greatly to be of any benefit, but again, it depends on many factors outside of your control.

Stunt Children Growth With Sleeping With Lights

How to Sleep Better by Room Darkening Blinds

The use of room darkening blinds is very popular when it comes to helping people sleep at night.

There are many reasons why these blinds are such a great pick for use in a bedroom.

One of the best reasons is that they help block out the light and prevent you from waking up at all during the night.

They can be used in any room of your home, even if you have a fireplace or other type of source of light.

You should note that they work best when your windows are at a certain angle and facing down.

If your windows are angled and light is coming through directly, you will need something that is made specifically to block the light from coming through.

How To Sleep Better By Using Red Light Lamps – Try This and You Will Sleep Better!

Learning how to sleep better by using red light lamps is not as difficult as you may think.

These lamps have been designed for use in the bedroom and are used to provide a gentle illumination that will aid you fall asleep easier and quicker.

They are designed with a dimming feature that allows you to set the lamp to a lower setting when necessary which also ensures that you do not disturb your partner when you are trying to get to sleep.

How to Sleep Better By Consistent Bedtime Habits

For people who have trouble sleeping or suffer from insomnia, having a good night’s sleep is often the first thing on their agenda when they get up in the morning. If you are wondering how to sleep better by consistent bedtime habits, there are many ways that you can start doing to make sure you get your rest each night and so will you. Find out what one of these ways is right for you.

Just stick to a regular schedule when sleeping, most people goes to bed at 9pm if the following day is very busy and productive.

How to Sleep Better by Turning Off All Electronics

How to Sleep Better by Listening to White Noise

If you are struggling to get a good night’s sleep, you have probably heard of all of the different techniques for improving your sleep.

Some are very effective, some less so, and some don’t work at all. You may be wondering if white noise can help you sleep better, why don’t more people know about it?

There are two main reasons: one, many people just don’t know that it exists, and two, they don’t know how it works.

White noise is actually an actual term used by medical professionals to describe any non-tidal, monotonous background sound that calms and relaxes the body. It can be used in many different ways to improve sleep.

How To Sleep Better By Listening To Solfeggio Frequencies

This is because the human brain reacts very uniquely to the frequency variations of each note.

If we can understand how it works then we can learn how to sleep better. This way you will be able to recreate the exact conditions in your own brain and use that knowledge to help sleep better.

How to Sleep Better by Meditating

Learning how to sleep better by meditation is not difficult and can be very beneficial for your well-being.

Studies have shown that meditation lowers blood pressure and improves symptoms of anxiety and depression, so it’s not just a palliative approach but also a curative one: it helps prolong the lives of those who take it on.

If you have trouble sleeping and find yourself waking up constantly in the night, you may want to give it a try, since it has been used for so many years to treat sleeping disorders.

How to Sleep Better by Reading a Book

For so long has the common notion among us that a good night’s sleep is a result of a good night’s reading.

This has become an outdated and erroneous belief.

There are a wide variety of books that can be considered to be helpful in improving one’s ability to fall asleep.

Whether one wants to improve their ability to sleep for a special occasion or for a regular occurrence, reading a bedtime book can provide the necessary focus to relax and unwind.

For those who read before bed, it is an opportunity to read in their own time and try to identify patterns and commonalities so that they can learn how to sleep better by reading a book.

How to Sleep Better by Setting a Comfortable Temperature

If you want to know how to sleep better by setting a comfortable temperature, then keep reading. Most people don’t realize that temperature is one of the most important factors that contribute to a good night’s rest. When you go to bed, most people prefer a slightly cooler temperature than they do today. However, did you know that changing your bedroom temperature can actually make you sleep better?

How to Sleep Better by Avoiding Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant that can make you feel jittery and excitable. It can give you a “boost” in the morning to start your day, but as you may well know, it’s probably not a good thing when trying to sleep at night.

There are several ways to avoid caffeine during the day while still getting the rest that you need.

Some of these ways may seem obvious to others, but they are very effective.

How to Sleep Better by Avoiding Large Meals

How to sleep better by avoiding large meals is a concern for so many people these days.

I used to have the exact same concern when I first started getting serious about nutrition and healthy living.

The reason I started getting serious about it was because I was seeing changes in my health and weight.

I was always overweight, and at times even obese.

When I started getting more lethargic, sluggish and having trouble getting the rest I needed, I decided to go on a mission to figure out how to sleep better by avoiding large meals.

How to Sleep Better by Avoiding Alcohol at Night

If you are having trouble sleeping at night and avoiding the few alcoholic beverages you still drink.

Overcome your problems with drinking and get back to a healthy and happy life.

It’s best to avoid alcohol at night and keep your sleep cycle intact

How to Sleep Better by Exercising in the Morning Instead of Night

Learning how to sleep better by exercising in the morning instead of night can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and feel better throughout your entire night.

It’s important that you are getting at least the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep every night, but if you are struggling to do so, it may be a good idea for you to strike while the iron is hot.

Exercising in the mornings helps you wake up easier and help you exercise better during the rest of the day.

How to Sleep Better at Night by Not Napping During the Day

If you find yourself feeling drowsy during the day, getting a good night’s sleep, then learning how to sleep better by not napping during the day may be just the thing for you.

If you are one of those people who dreads waking up in the middle of the night, or find that you can’t get to a deep level of sleep no matter how hard you try, then it is time that you learned how to sleep better by not napping during the day.

Sleep disorders such as insomnia and excessive sleepiness can have serious health implications as well as serious social and financial implications.

Leave a Comment