Light pollution

[John Pickering]

My day job involves assessing medical studies etc.  One of my feeds is something called “Medscape”.  There was an interesting headline about physicians recognising the effects of artificial lights at night (ALAN) on human health.  I’m sharing it as it may help some of your conversations: https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/why-scientists-are-linking-more-diseases-light-night-2024a1000jhn?ecd=wnl_dne4_241025_MSCPEDIT_etid6942506&uac=166806SJ&impID=6942506

Two things to note:

1. There is an association of ALAN with several diseases.  But, do not take association to mean causation.  That doesn’t mean ALAN cannot be a cause, or contributing cause, to some diseases – it is hard to tell.  If people come across a particular study about a particular disease and ALAN and want help interpreting it, I may be able to help.
2. There are plausible biological reasons why ALAN may contribute to some diseases. Most prominent amongst them is that ALAN suppresses the secretion of the hormone, melatonin, which is necessary for us to sleep.  Interestingly, the amount of light exposure needed to suppress melatonin secretion varies considerably with individuals.  For some, it can be as little as one household light.
3. If you want your male neighbour to turn off their outdoor lights, just let them know (ignoring #1 above) it could be suppressing his sperm count 🙂

Keep well

John

 

• This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by John Pickering.

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