World’s Largest Study on Light Exposure Proves Its Impact on Mental Health

According to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the world’s largest study on light exposure and its impact on mental health has found that nighttime exposure to light increases the risk of mental health conditions, while exposure to daylight in the daytime reduces that risk.

The study, involving nearly 87,000 participants, found that “increased exposure to light at night increases a person’s risk for psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, bipolar and PTSD severity as well as self-harm” but critically, “increasing exposure to daytime light can act like a non-pharmacological means for reducing psychosis risk.”

The same pattern held true for depression. In people “exposed to high amounts of light at night, the risk of depression increased by 30%—while those who were exposed to high amounts of light during the day reduced their risk of depression by 20%.”

The new study led by Associate Professor Sean Cain, from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health built on prior research on sunlight and mood.

“Our findings will have a potentially huge societal impact,” said Cain. “Once people understand that their light exposure patterns have a powerful influence on their mental health, they can take some simple steps to optimize their well-being. It’s about getting bright light in the day and darkness at night.”

According to Cain, modern, industrialized society is at odds with our brains, which have evolved to work best with bright light in the day and little to no light at night.

“Humans today challenge this biology, spending around 90% of the day indoors under electric lighting which is too dim during the day and too bright at night compared to natural light and dark cycles. It is confusing our bodies and making us unwell,” he said.

Read the full article here.

 

Monash University. “Largest ever study on light exposure proves its impact on mental health.” 10 Oct 2023, https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/largest-ever-study-on-light-exposure-proves-its-impact-on-mental-health#:~:text=The%20world%27s%20largest%20study%20on,as%20well%20as%20self%2Dharm.

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash