Bedroom light at night increases inflammation and disrupts circadian rhythm | Hacker News Reader

Bedroom light at night increases inflammation and disrupts circadian rhythm

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78 pointsXzetaU826 comments

I'm in Canada and just got my first house. After growing up in Europe, the first thing I want to do is install those European style external metal blinds that fully 100% black out the room to an absurd degree.

This is such a persistent issue that I've been dealing with in newer build apartments in the US. The blinds, whether they are shutter or pull down, have consistently not been sufficient to block out the light streaming in from outside at night.

I had to buy 100% blackout electric shades. They're simple to install and can even work in a rental apartment.

(not associated with company, but they were "Yoolax Motorized Cellular Shade" in "Blackout Pearl" on amazon, and you measure and order the shades in 1/4" increments)

They came with these L-shaped light-blocker things that attach down the sides of the window opening to block light from the side.

You can get a pretty dark room, but I also put a little black tape on the few remaining tiny cracks.

I live in Finland and have never heard of that. I've only seen standard blinds that let a lot of light through even when fully closed. Most people here use blackout curtains.

Would you happen to have a link for this product?

Edit: Thank you for the replies!

It's called "Rolladen", quite popular here in Austria.

https://www.rolladenplanet.de/vorbaurollladen/rollladen-stan...

Google for “roller shutters”, like these here: https://www.neuffer.de/en/roller-shutters.php

It’s odd that no one installs these in the US!

How does this work though? 11 pm the sky is still light blue here. 3 am the sky is light blue again. 3:30-4:00 is basically daylight outside already.

Do people in northern latitudes have chronic inflammation during summer then?

They are definitely much more skilled in shutting off the light in summer, especially in bedrooms.

Comparing Radom 51°N and Trondheim 63°N or even cities in Norway further out north, every single bedroom has proper shades.

The summer light is also a bit of a problem in Poland, but for a very short time.

Maybe not 63N but a lot of people still live north of 57N. And from my experience proper blackout curtains are pretty rare.

There are a lot of variables to consider, but it is suspected that people in northern latitudes (or cities) have health issues due to nighttime light exposure.

Controlling for variables as best you can, there seems to be a slightly increases risk of cancer, for example.

That's interesting! And I'm guessing the lack of daylight in winter has its own effects too.

I'm sure it does, especially for non-white people. Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread problem.

When I go to the arctic circle areas, all the bedroom windows have full proper blackout curtains. It doesn't have to be an issue.

Would be interesting to know if a eye mask counteracts this.

I'd like to know if light color makes a difference. I'd assume blue is worse than red but might not be.

Humans have dealt with light from the Moon for as long as we have existed so it does seem like we should at least be able to handle those wavelengths at the typical intensity reflected off the Moon.

Though that still doesn’t mean that zero light isn’t better. That’s why we base our epistemology on experimentation.

I don't understand how people are able to get a good night's sleep without decent curtains/blinds, or with a bunch of bright blue LEDs scattered about the bedroom.

There's a power brick with an orange indicator light in my bedroom, and I had to black it out with tape because the light bugged me at night.

I highly recommend a silk sleep mask, there are some that stay cool on your face and once you get used to it, it's better than blackout curtains. It took a few weeks before I stopped pulling it off in my sleep, but once I did, I was able to get to sleep much easier and the quality was much better

I have a goofy habit of sleeping with a winter beanie cap down over my eyes. Got it from my wife who sometimes does the same. Makes it dark and the ears warm and cozy.

I also do this! I went from using an eyeshade which was uncomfortable and often slipped off to just grabbing a beanie. The coziness is a nice plus.

I only do that if I’m three shades of ripped

Balaclava / buff neck wraps are great for this too :)

cough, sleep mask, cough :D

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