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Comment by bandibus | Hacker News Reader

Fabulous. Not just for the light-pollution & energy side of things, but because softer lighting is the thing sleep experts have been telling us to introduce into our lives in the evenings, all the blue light filters for our phones etc, to help us tell our bodies it's time to sleep...

But the comments here about bright light deterring crime are important (and true). Not sure what a solution is that deals with that AND helps us sleep better etc.

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> But the comments here about bright light deterring crime are important (and true). Not sure what a solution is that deals with that AND helps us sleep better etc.

Every French home and apartment I've ever been inside (mostly in the Northwest) has been built or retrofitted with shutters that block out almost all outside light. They're installed on all the main windows including on living room and kitchen windows.

It's just part of the nightly routine to walk around and close them. (Or, in the case of newer electric shutters, just to hit the main button to close them all.)

Wooden panes that you fold onto the window from outside is a traditional part of houses all over France. They have been upgraded to roller shutters, but not always replaced (both coexist sometimes)

> (both coexist sometimes)

Indeed. My in-laws' 300-year-old granite farmhouse has a mix of modern roller shutters, pvc panel shutters, and wooden panel shutters.

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