A study confirms the hypothesis that the light on is able to alter the metabolism of glucose. We talk about it in the Corriere Salute on newsstands for free with the Corriere della Sera on Thursday 5 May
We are publishing a preview of an article in the new Corriere Salute. You can read the full text on the free issue on newsstands Thursday 5 May or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.
Common experience: easy to fall asleep in front of a soporific TV show. According to the stories of many people, that hour of sleep on the sofa, before going to bed, is indeed described as one of those who enjoy the most, precisely because of thelulling effect of the voice coming from the screen. However, it would not be a good idea to continue sleeping all night in front of the screen on.
An experimental research published in the journal Pnas (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) confirms a fact that has already emerged from previous observational studies: sleeping with a light on in the room can create some risk in terms of cardiometabolic balance. In particular, the investigation, coordinated by Phyllis Zee of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, indicates that sleeping with the light on can alter glucose metabolism, possibly through abnormal activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
The study was carried out on 20 subjects, divided into two experimental groups, exposed, during sleep, one to a very dim light and the other to a more intense light. All subjects subsequently underwent a series of clinical investigations that also included the evaluation of sleep-related hormones, such as melatonin, or involved in the stress response. In fact, studies had already been published that had highlighted this phenomenon of activation of the sympathetic nervous system in those who sleep with a certain level of light in the room – confirms Luigi Ferini Strambi, director of the Sleep Medicine Center of the Irccs San Raffaele Hospital in Milan -. For example, research indicated a higher incidence of obesity in people who sleep with a television or light on in the bedroom. Another found that the higher the level of light in the bedroom, the higher the incidence of type 2 diabetes, at least in the elderly population.
You can continue reading the article in Corriere Salute on newsstands for free on Thursday 5 May or in Pdf in the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.
May 4, 2022 (change May 4, 2022 | 20:00)
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