Night artificial light harms human health
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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In the modern world, people live by the light almost all day and night. At night, over large cities, a huge glow glows. According to experts, over the past 150 years, nights in metropolitan areas have become much lighter than before.
World experts discussed the problem of light pollution and its eco-physiological consequences. Experts tried to shed light on the degree of danger and damage caused by artificial lighting at night.
This is a map of the US agency NOAA. Yellow and red color areas are marked with an increased in 1992-2003 index of "light" pollution. They coincide with the location of the most populated areas and large urban agglomerations.
"The most important thing for us is an understanding of how artificial lighting can be dangerous to humans and the environment. Recently, the American Medical Association has approved a new program through which scientists will be able to conduct detailed studies of the influence of night light and to identify the adverse consequences that it carries, "says Abraham Haim, a professor at the University of Haifa, a leading specialist in light pollution.
The main sources of light in large cities are street lighting, billboards, luminous round days and floodlights. Most of the light weight is directed upwards and creates above the city a kind of light dome. This is due in large part to the fact that street lighting has an incorrect system, which leads to an irrational use of energy.
The effect of a bright glow is added by dust particles dispersed in the air, which additionally reflect, refract and scatter light.
Light pollution can significantly hamper the process of astronomical observations and damage the ecosystem - waste of electricity and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, artificial lighting is dangerous for living organisms. From this, the plant growth cycle suffers. Many insects and animals, active only at night, also suffer from this effect. Particularly harmful to the night creatures are sources of light-colored lighting.
During the conference, Professor Chaim presented the results of one of his studies, indicating the adverse effects of night light.
The experimental scientists were rats, who succumbed to the influence of chronic light exposure. It turned out that the animals had changes in the psycho-emotional and behavioral sphere. The specialist associates this with the hormone melatonin, which is produced at night and the production of which inhibits the light effect. Most harm, according to the scientist, is caused by energy-saving lamps, which are capable of slowing down this process more than usual.
"We think that about the same way the human body reacts to the influence of light. The biggest "light" load is received by young people, who practically do not detach from the screens of smartphones, laptops and tablets - all these gadgets surround the modern person everywhere. We can not know how the night illumination of 20 years will affect us, but there are suggestions that there is not much good in this, "the professor says.
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