Scientists have been saying lately that artifical light can cause cancer, specifically breast cancer. The reasoning for this is exposure to artificial light, especially in the nighttime, diminishes melatonin in the body. Melatonin is a chemical, produced naturally by the pineal gland, that regulates the sleep cycle (or circadian rhythm).
Artificial light, especially at night, reduces melatonin. The lower level of melatonin makes the body inefficient in battling breast cancer.
But that’s not how this news relates to me. After all, since I am male it’s highly unlikely I’ll have breast cancer in my lifetime. However, reading about this relationship does make me think about my sleeping habits—or problems, however they should be described. Ever since I was about twelve (for the last seventeen years) I’ve spent a lot of time in front a computer monitor. It probably started a few years before that, if you count playing games and learning BASIC on a Commodore VIC-20.
During high school, I ran a bulletin board system, where people would dial in with their modems and participate with each other in the same way discussion forum and file sharing websites do now. I was constantly online or programming the BBS software. At night, if I was working on something, my mind couldn’t rest until the problem was solved.
I believe college wasn’t as bad. I didn’t spend as much time in front of the computer screen, although I did work on many websites at that time. I probably slept a little better. These days my sleep cycle is pretty bad again. I have to get away from the computer, especially since most of my time during the day at work is spent in front of one.
The sun, natural light, is what regulates circadian rhythm. Our bodies are designed to be active (or work, since we are living in the era of the Puritan Work Ethic) while the sun is up and sleep while the sun is down. In order to make myself feel healthier, I think I’m going to have to stop exposing myself to so much artificial light at night.