From a Sleep Medicine online release (January 2020):
Our findings suggest that LAN (low-level light at night) exposure increases the incidence of diabetes in a general elderly population. Further research involving a large cohort with new-onset diabetes is warranted to elucidate these findings.
Highlights
- Humans are commonly exposed to light at night.
- Higher light exposure at night was significantly associated with higher incidence rate of diabetes.
- The association was consistent in the analysis using the cut-off values of LAN as 3 and 5 lux.
- Strengths include large samples adjusting a number of confounders.
The circadian timing system, located within the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, controls fundamental energy homeostasis. Clock gene mutations induce obesity in mice, and the disruption of internal circadian rhythms decreases daily energy expenditures and leptin levels in humans. Light information received by the brain influences human circadian timing and metabolism; low-level light at night (LAN) significantly increased body mass and led to prediabetes in mice. In humans, bedroom LAN affected obesity parameters; however, the association between LAN and the incidence of diabetes in humans has not been studied.