Impact of Artificial Light on Health

There is so much discussion and research in this decade about artificial light and light pollution and how it impacts human health. It is suggested that a number of illnesses such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, cardio vascular disorders, sleep disorders, irritability and so much more is affected by the amount of natural light and darkness we are exposed to in a 24 hour cycle. The natural circadian rhythm of the body requires a period of light and a period of natural darkness to work optimally. Ongoing research indicates there may be serious impacts on human health from artificial light at night.

The research of Dr. Steven Lockley an Associate Neuroscientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has primarily focused on the characterization of circadian rhythm disorders in relation to light loss and the visual impairment in the blind. More recently he has conducted some of the first studies examining the spectral sensitivity of the circadian system or how different wavelengths of light affect the internal 24-hour body clock. www.ecologyofthenight.org

Understanding and Control of the Circadian Rhythm is a very Powerful Tool in Modifying Human Health

Dr. Joan Roberts, Ph.D. is a tenured professor of Chemistry at Fordham University. She received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from St. John’s University and her undergraduate degree in chemistry with a minor in mathematics from Marymount Manhatt4an College. Dr. Roberts has been featured on ABC World News Tonight with Per Jennings for her research on melatonin/circadian immune responses. In addition to over 60 publications in peer reviewed scientific journals, her work has been published in several prominent “lay journals” including New Scientists, Eye World, Men’s Health and on several medical websites , such as ABC New.com, Reuters and BBC News.com. She has been a guest speaker at numerous national and international conferences.

“Circadian Rhythm is a term used to define the chemical and biological oscillations that occur daily in most species including human. These circadian responses are primarily triggered by visible light impinging on the retina, which is then directed to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus. This leads to a cascade of hormonal changes in the pituitary, pineal, adrenal and thyroid glands. The lack of light, total darkness, blocks some of these hormonal events while enhancing its own cascade of neuroendocrine changes. This daily oscillation of darkness and light has a profound effect on most physiological functions in the body. When the circadian hormone response is disrupted through environmental light changes, particularly light in the evening, severe damaging emotional and physical effects associated with seasonal depression (SAD), jet lag, and shift work occur. External control of the dark/light cycle and /or the administration of melatonin have led to effective treatments of these disorders. The immune response also fluctuates in a rhythmic pattern during the day and evening. B (antibody producing) cells are most active in the morning so that hay fever or asthmas may be more severe on awakening. On the other hand T cells and NK (natural killer) cells that attack tumors are more active in the evening. Lissoni and Maestroni have found that cancer treatments that consider this immune-circadian rhythm are much more effective than when randomly administered. Chronotherapy is being considered as an adjunct to treatment of other disorders. It has become evident that all living things need a certain period of darkness and then quality daylight in order to function properly. Understanding and control of circadian rhythm is a very powerful tool in modifying human health.”
Reference: Ecology of The Night: An International Symposium: Darkness as a Biological Imperative

Why the Incidence of Cancer is Increasing: The Role of “Light Pollution”

N.A. Kerenjy, E. Pandula and G. Geuer
Department of Pathology, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Medical Centre and Departments of Clincal Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto Canada

“At present, cancer is responsible for almost half of all deaths among women 45-64 years of age, and about 30% of all deaths among men in the same age group (1). This high rate represents a marked increase from the end of the last century, and it probably has a multifactorial etiology. Air pollution, smoking, diet, alcohol, occupational exposures, and stress are all considered as possible etiologic and risk factors. We put forward a hypothesis that one of the most important etiologic factors in the rapid growth rate of cancer is the change of light exposure that took place in the last 100 years, especially in the developed countries. Increased light exposure acting through the pineal gland reduces melatonin production, thereby diminishing the non-specific oncostatic effects of the pineal gland.”

“It is suggested that light has a major role in tumorigenesis through its effect in regulating melatonin production by the pineal gland. It is further proposed that the major increase in light exposure of the human population may be one of the most important factors that is responsible for the increased incidence of tumors. We propose that studies of environmental components, particularly of the major role of light pollution, may lead to a better understanding of the development of some cancers, their geographic distribution, and their increasing incidence in younger age groups. It is also proposed that appropriate preventive measures by limiting or neutralizing the increased exposure to light may advance cancer prevention or may even lead to possible better routes in therapy.”

NIGHT LIGHTS and your IMMUNE SYSTEM: An ENVIRONMENTAL MESS

The following is the text of an item which was broadcast on CTV Newsnet on Wednesday May 16, 2001:
Darkness can have a spooky, negative connotation: dark impulses, a dark street, the dark side of one’s character. However, science is discovering that shedding light on things isn’t always the best. In fact, darkness is essential for good health. Bill Blakemore has more on the benefits of turning off the lights.
“Look at North America from a satellite at night, and it glows. With billions of wasted energy dollars. Nobody meant this to happen. And it’s having a devastating effect on our health. It turns out we need darkness to make our immune systems work. Scientists have now discovered that only when n it’s really dark can your body produce the hormone called melatonin. Melatonin fights diseases, including breast and prostate cancer. Joan Roberts, Photobiologist: It turns off the cancer cell from growing.” But if there’s even a little light around your bed at night, your melatonin production switches off. Joan Roberts, again: “ so there may be this natural way, that mother nature has give us, that is , dark night, to keep certain cancers under control.” Light at night, even watching TV turns on other immune-system hormones that should be active only in daytime. They get depleted and you’re more likely to get a cold. Nature needs darkness too. The immune systems of animals grow weak if there’s artificial light at night.

It turns out this is one pollution that’s easy to fix. Lights that spill so much glare into the sky they even wipe out the stars, can be fitted with reflectors to focus the light, which in turn means they require less energy, or you can simply switch off the lights.
Bill Blakemore, AMC News, New York

Spirituality

For thousands of years man has looked up in to the heavens and with outstretched arms or heads bent in prayer asked for guidance, help, healing, hope, and forgiveness. Man has fallen on his knees and asked God in heaven to hear his intimate plea.

Man has asked for rain in times of drought, prayed for healing, understanding, patience, love, and for guidance. Eyes and hearts raise their souls to God, Allah, The All Mighty, the Great Spirit, to our Father, to Saints and loved ones who have gone before us. With outstretched arms reaching for the sky, man sings, and prays and chants with the hope of a better tomorrow for their families, for their nation, for the world.

Ask a child “Where is Heaven?”  And most of them will point to the sky.   For children living in urban centres, the heavens are lost to night glare and night pollution. We are becoming more and more disconnected with the beauty, and the spiritual nature of the night sky.  Days like Queen Victoria’s Birthday are national holidays.  Wouldn’t it be a wonderful celebration to have a Heavens and Shimmering Stars Night once a year?

Sunlight and dark nights have been with us since the beginning of life on this planet. As we’ve visually disconnected from shimmering star-studded dark skies, we have forgotten the beauty, the ancient spiritual properties and now we are just beginning to understand its powerful effect on human health.