Every living thing needs light - plants, animals, and especially the human animal. Now this very necessary light that people need, and especially people living in or near large cities or industrial areas, is suffering, like so many other things, from pollution. Smoke emitted by steel mills, lumber mills, rubber manufacturers, chemical plants and other industries is polluting, not only the air we breathe, but also the light our bodies and minds need to operate at full efficiency.
But, as well as blocking out the natural light, cities emit artificial light, and this, too, is hazardous to one's health. Presenters at the International Dark Sky Association in Tucson, Arizona offer evidence of this growing danger. They claim that:
Artificial light at night weakens the immune system and disrupts sleep patterns. We see the effect light has in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.,) jet lag and delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS.)
The body needs darkness to proficiently produce melatonin and melatonin is what makes us sleep. Sleep deprivation does affect our immune system thus making us more susceptible to illnesses. People who work the night shift, spending long hours in artificial light, are even more at risk. Recent studies indicate a link between working at night and breast cancer.
Artificial lighting also creates a glare effectively blinding people when they move into shadowed areas. This poses a threat to anyone walking later at night and even more of a risk for the elderly who may also suffer from other vision problems.
Artificial light even affects animals and disrupts their sleep patterns. Some places take advantage of this by leaving lights on to promote things like an increase in the number of eggs chickens lay or the amount of feed beef animals consume. If they aren't sleeping, many animals will continue to eat.
The bright lights also interfere with migration patterns in birds. They become confused by the glare of the lights from large cities and may lose their way.
Many studies have been done on the effect of lights on sleep and sleep disorders. New studies are now showing its usefulness in the treatment of a whole range of diseases and disorders from minor cuts and bruises to Crohn's disease to cancer.
But this comes as no surprise to those involved in New Age healing. They have known for a long time about the healing power of light and of color, about using the mind to create an imaginary circle of light - sometimes white, sometimes blue, around the body to rid yourself of someone else of illness.
So it seems we all need light, but that light should be as natural as possible and should occur during the day. Artificial light, although never as good as natural sunlight, will suffice during the day, but avoid artificial lighting at night, and especially if you want to sleep.
