Why is it vital to sleep in total darkness? Why do you need to sleep in complete darkness without nightlights and TV.

A person does not sleep well when he is cold or too hot. Noise and even someone's conversation behind the wall interferes with sleep. Sleeping in an uncomfortable bed causes you to wake up with pain all over your body. But in front of the TV turned on, people sleep as if nothing had happened, and the nightlights are left in the nursery to burn all night until the morning. In a word, there is nothing wrong with sleeping in the light, if it is not bright sunlight. Although any light during sleep is harmful, as proven by a number of studies.

The main reason why you can’t sleep with light is that the body in such conditions will not be able to produce melatonin or produce it in insufficient quantities.

Melatonin is a hormone responsible for the quality of sleep. It regulates human biorhythms, thanks to which we are active during the day, and with the onset of darkness it makes us sleepy. This is explained by the fact that the pineal gland (pineal gland) at a later time of the day receives a signal from the receptors that the amount of daylight is decreasing, and then melatonin begins to be produced in this part of the brain.

For a person, this is a signal - it's time to sleep. It is a process regulated by nature over millions of years, providing the necessary healthy rest at night.

But in a dream we rest, and our body (certain parts of it) continues to work. And melatonin takes an active part in this work. Without it, it would be impossible not only to regulate daily biorhythms, but also:

Stabilize the nervous system, relieve stress.
Normalize blood pressure.
Protect against the damaging effects of DNA.
Neutralize free radicals.
Suppress the formation of malignant tumors.
Slow down aging and increase life expectancy.
Strengthen the body's defenses.
Burn fat deposits and thereby prevent the formation of excess weight.

In addition to all this, the pineal gland is both part of the nervous and endocrine systems. Due to this, with the help of melatonin, it affects the hormonal balance in the human body. The production of this hormone regulates the functioning of the human endocrine system during sleep.

Scientists have already deduced the relationship between the incidence of cancer and sleep in the light. The more often a person sleeps in the light, the greater the risk of formation of cancer cells in the body.

An adult at a young and mature age produces about 30 mcg of this sleep hormone per day, and this process is much more productive at night (70% is produced precisely in the dark). As a person ages, the body synthesizes melatonin in smaller volumes. Therefore, so often older people suffer from insomnia.

The most active "hormonal factory" works at two in the morning - and at this time a person must sleep in order to maintain health.

Influence of dim light

It is often mistakenly believed that only bright light is harmful to sleep. In fact, at night, even a dim dim light in the bedroom is harmful to health: you need to sleep in complete darkness.

But the room where a person sleeps is rarely completely darkened. A person does not pay attention to a dim dim light, and even moonlight is not a hindrance, because. it is natural that the moon shines outside the window. The numbers on the electronic alarm clock may glow - but this is very important, because. there is an opportunity to see what time it is without turning on the light. Many cannot fall asleep if the TV does not work - you just need to turn down the volume, and then it lulls you to sleep.

All this - the included TV, a cozy dim night light, a luminous dial - disrupts the production of melatonin. You need to sleep in the dark, because the eye perceives light even through closed eyelids - just like the light of a light bulb behind a lampshade. And this light impulse enters not only the visual center, but also the pineal gland (which is why this gland is also called the third eye). And if you had to turn on the light in the middle of the night - a severe blow was dealt to the production of melatonin, sleep will be grossly disturbed, and with it all the subtle processes that occur in the body at night.

Sleep in the light and oncology

Since the main amount of melatonin is produced at night, it can be said that an important prevention of tumor diseases occurs during sleep. This hormone affects the functioning of the entire endocrine system and the stability of the immune system.

The thing is that cancer cells are cells in which, for one reason or another, malfunctions have occurred, and they begin to grow at an incredible rate, absorbing neighboring, healthy cells to maintain their vital activity.

Failures occur due to the fact that DNA is damaged. There are many reasons for this, but melatonin is an antioxidant and protects our cells from damage and malignant transformation.

It is especially important for women to sleep in the dark: melatonin slows down the production of the female hormone estrogen, an excess of which can lead to the appearance of malignant neoplasms. Therefore, it is dangerous for the weaker sex to stay awake at night.

blue and blue light

The peculiarity of the impact of the blue part of the spectrum (and these are waves of 450-480 nm) on human vision is that such waves most significantly affect the production of the hormone melatonin by the pineal gland. Under their influence, there is a three-hour shift of biorhythms to the day side.

Scientists advise avoiding a bluish or bluish glow in the evening and it is doubly harmful to sleep with the lights on if the light is blue or blue. By the way, greenish light is also not very useful, which also violates biorhythms, albeit to a lesser extent.

You need to prepare for a good sleep in the evening, therefore:

Do not install so-called daylight (fluorescent) lamps at home.
Energy-saving light bulbs have a bright blue and blue glow - try not to have them at least in the bedroom. But it is better to use incandescent lamps, despite the negative reviews.
Before going to bed, it is better to turn on table lamps with ordinary old light bulbs. They create comfort and inspire sleep.
If there are “harmful” lamps in the house that emit a blue glow, glasses with yellow and brown glasses (not plastic instead of glasses) help.
You can watch TV no later than an hour before bedtime. Sleeping with the TV on is bad.
The less people are in front of the computer in the evening, the better you will sleep.
Everything that glows blue should be removed from the bedroom - a night lamp, an alarm clock, a table lamp, etc.

Even if we fall asleep in low light, this does not mean that we sleep well and our sleep is useful. To sleep really was healthy, you need to sleep in complete darkness. What you need to do for this:

Curtain the windows with thick curtains, which will certainly pull at night.
Replace the digital clock with a regular alarm clock.
Learn to fall asleep in front of the TV.

The latter is especially important - and it is easiest to correct this situation. In this case, a person is used to falling asleep not under the “picture” on the screen, he needs a lulling quiet sound. You need to learn how to replace the TV with quiet soothing sounds - there are many ready-made recordings for this: rain, surf, quiet noise of the forest, etc.

And do not forget the good old "grandmother's" methods, such as an eye mask to ensure complete darkness in a dream. This small thing is very useful in situations where for some reason it is impossible to sleep in the dark (hospital, plane, polar summer, etc.)

If the child is afraid to sleep in the dark

Many parents complain that children are afraid to fall asleep in the dark. In fact, you need to figure out what kind of phobia it is, since the child can be scared because he remains in an enclosed space (claustrophobia). Loneliness can be scary (autophobia). All these fears are also found in adults. The fear of the dark is called nyctophobia.

This fear has been embedded in the subconscious since primitive times, when many dangers lurked in the darkness of the night awaited around a person. Therefore, it would be right for the first time to put a very dim night light with a reddish or yellowish light in the nursery.

When the child falls asleep, the night light is turned off. But it is possible that you can do without light: sometimes it is enough to leave the door to the room ajar, put a large soft toy in bed (“this bear will drive away all evil animals”) so that the child is no longer afraid of the dark.

Ways to Preserve Melatonin

Melatonin levels can be affected by:

medications;
some natural products;
bad habits.

Do not drink alcohol or smoke before bed. Strong tea and coffee will also reduce the production of melatonin. But eating a little turkey, rice, one banana at dinner will be useful.

Such useful during the daytime, vitamins, if taken before bedtime, will interfere with the synthesis of the sleep hormone. The same applies to acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and some other medicines. Sunlight is also needed for the production of melatonin - the more daylight the body receives in the morning, the better the secretion of melatonin at night will be.

Impact of technological progress on health

Thanks to progress, humanity has expanded its capabilities - but at the same time interfered with natural processes, violated them. If we talk about melatonin and healthy sleep, then a person, having received artificial light sources, interfered with the work of the body, reduced the secretion of melatonin and worsened the quality of sleep.

Insomnia, sleep disturbances and nervous disorders are the disease of the century. Pharmacology tirelessly produces synthetic drugs that make it easier to fall asleep, since round-the-clock light catastrophically reduces the production of melatonin. We have surrounded ourselves with devices and gadgets that emit light. Scientists have even coined the term "light pollution".

All this leads to an increase in the number of cancer patients. In men, a lack of melatonin leads to prostate cancer, in women - to breast cancer.

For a full-fledged healthy sleep, a person needs complete darkness. Sleeping in the light leads to disturbances at the cellular level, serious illnesses, and nervous disorders. To sleep well, you need to remove all light sources from the room and use dimming tools.

Since childhood, you have probably heard that it is harmful to sleep in the light. But little ones are often afraid of the dark, and adults make concessions, trying not to provoke evening scandals, and leave the nightlight on. True, caring parents always turn it off when the child falls asleep. But the habit is not so easy to break. So it turns out that, having already become adults, some people leave a dim light on all night. What is fraught with such a habit and why you need to sleep in the dark, scientists tried to find out.

What happens in the dark

Since man does not belong to nocturnal mammals, nature has provided that he should sleep in the dark, and in the light of the day - stay awake and lead an active lifestyle. To do this, our body has a built-in biological clock that measures daily rhythms. Moreover, they work properly even in complete darkness, which is confirmed by repeated experiments.

Placed in a completely dark room, a person still goes to bed at about the same time as before, when the external lighting naturally changed. If the light is constantly on, it is more difficult for him to fall asleep, but he still wants to sleep at regular intervals.

Such alternations scientists called circadian rhythms. With a sharp change in time zones, internal settings go astray, and for a certain period a person feels severe discomfort.

epiphysis

Looking for a regulator of this process, scientists discovered a small gland located in the back of the head - the pineal gland. By producing certain hormones and sending them to the blood, the pineal gland stimulates increased activity or drowsiness of a person. During the day, it increases the concentration of serotonin in the blood, and at nightfall it begins to actively produce melatonin, called the sleep hormone.

When the concentration of melatonin in the blood reaches a certain level, and this usually happens around 22-23 hours, a person shows signs of drowsiness: yawns, rubs his eyes, becomes inhibited.

If you go to bed from 22 to 24 hours, then the process of falling asleep proceeds easily and quickly, and then the person sleeps peacefully all night. By 4-5 o'clock in the morning, the production of melatonin is completed, serotonin enters the blood again, preparing us for an early and vigorous awakening.

Melatonin for sleep and more

Interested in what the hormone melatonin is and what its reduced concentration is fraught with, scientists conducted a number of studies, the results of which turned out to be extremely interesting.

It turned out that melatonin not only promotes rapid falling asleep, but also affects other vital processes in the body.

Prevention of depression

A lack of melatonin can provoke states close to depressive states. This was shown by experiments conducted on animals that were constantly illuminated at night.

The test hamsters became lethargic, they lost their appetite, they were even no longer interested in their favorite treats. You will say that a person is not a hamster, but people who regularly sleep in the light complain of very similar symptoms.

Slow down aging

The second important function of melatonin is to neutralize free radicals that are embedded in healthy cells and provoke their premature destruction. Produced by a gland located in the cranium, melatonin primarily protects against the destruction of brain cells, preserving our memory and clarity of mind.

Now it becomes clear why children who slept all the time in the light, showed the worst results in school.

Acceleration of metabolism

Another experiment showed that the test animal, which sleeps with a constantly burning light bulb (and even in dim light!), quickly gains excess weight on the same diet that previously did not give an increase.

The lack of melatonin leads to a slowdown in metabolic processes. And if you consider that chronic lack of sleep is constantly accompanied by mild apathy and unwillingness to move a lot, the process goes even faster in a person.

Minimum light

Sleeping with light is harmful! It leads to obesity, the development of psychosomatic diseases and insomnia. Moreover, the level of lighting practically does not play a role. In order for melatonin to be produced in sufficient quantities, it is necessary to sleep in complete darkness. Even street lighting penetrating through the curtains or the glow from an electronic clock is enough to significantly reduce its production, and therefore worsen the quality of sleep.

By the way, along the way, scientists discovered another interesting connection. A depressive state, including that caused by poor sleep quality due to the presence of lighting in the room, is directly related to a sharp decrease in the body's immune defenses. It is no wonder that those who sleep in the light are more likely to get colds and viral diseases.

How to save melatonin

Why you need to sleep in the dark, it became clear in the course of experiments that discovered the important role of melatonin in the human body. But is it possible to somehow stimulate its production? What can be done to ensure that the concentration of melatonin does not decrease to a dangerous threshold?

And most importantly, remember that a healthy lifestyle is the key to a full sound sleep. Not exhausted by artificial stimulants and not poisoned by toxins and poisons, the body usually has no problems with sleep.

Why so it is necessary and important to sleep in the dark. What hormone problems can this lead to? How to prevent this and how to ensure that sleep becomes strong and full.

Everyone knows how important sleep is to us.

During sleep, our body does not just rest, it regenerates itself. Everyone knows that it is desirable to go to bed and get up at the same time. Our body quickly gets used to the routine and adapts. Everyone knows that you need to sleep at least 6-7 hours.

Does everyone adhere to these simple, well-known rules?

In the age of technology, we fall asleep in front of the TV, some even manage to do it in front of a computer, tablet, phone.

Many parents leave a night light on in their children's room all night, for many easily explainable and understandable reasons (children are often afraid of the dark, they will suddenly wake up and want to go to the toilet and in the same vein).

But the fact that you need to sleep in complete darkness, many do not suspect.

It turns out that our body has its own built-in biological clock that controls many important processes in our body.

One of these processes is the production of the hormone Melatonin, which (unfortunately for many people) is produced only in complete darkness.

And why this is so important and you need to know, I will tell you in this post.

What is Melatonin?

It is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland of our brain. This gland, by the way, is also called the third eye.

The urge to produce Melatonin is the absence of light.

This dark-loving hormone plays a big role in physical and mental health, controls our mood and, in addition, is a powerful antioxidant!

Melatonin deficiency can cause numerous and very serious health problems.

This is weak immunity, an increase in the risk of malignant tumors (a study of the relationship between low levels of Melatonin and breast cancer), hypertension, diseases of the cardiovascular system, hormonal imbalance, obesity.

Scientists consider the lack of this hormone as one of the possible risks for the development of Multiple Sclerosis and depression.

As I already mentioned, we humans, like all creatures of the animal world, have our own daily or circadian rhythm, which tells us to go to sleep when it gets dark and wake up when it gets light.

What exactly our ancestors followed. I remember my grandmother, who went to bed probably at 9 pm and woke up at sunrise - around 6 am.

The ancient Indian science of Ayurveda says the same: go to bed no later than 10 pm and get up at 5-6 am. This is explained by the energy of the sun and our connection with this energy.

But there is a more scientific explanation that fully supports Ayurveda.

Inside our hypothalamus lives a group of special cells called cells Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, which control our biological clock, again depending on the lighting.

Light gets to these cells through our optic nerve.

When it's time to wake up, for example, light stimulates these cells. At the same time, lighting provokes the beginning of a whole process of “waking up” of our entire body, which goes unnoticed for us. Our body temperature rises, hormone synthesis increases cortisol.

When these special cells do not receive enough light, they begin the reverse process - the production of a hormone. Melatonin which can be said to help us sleep.

That is, it turns out that if you sleep at night with the TV on (and yes, even this, it would seem, dim lighting can interrupt the synthesis of Melatonin) or with a night light on, then you are on the road to a serious hormonal imbalance that threatens problems not only with the quality of sleep but also general health.

In addition, artificial lighting, when natural light is no longer available, increases the synthesis of the hormone Cortisol, which prevents you from falling asleep, provokes hunger and triggers a whole range of chronic inflammation reactions.

How to achieve optimal synthesis of Melatonin?

« Sleep in the dark « will sound very hackneyed, but this is a simple, uncomplicated truth.

Turn off the lights, nightlights, TV, computer and even desktop electronic clocks.
Cover windows with heavy curtains or blinds that block out light.
Ideally, scientists say that the room where you sleep should be so dark that you won't be able to see, for example, your own hand. Personally, I have not yet reached such darkness, but I strive very much for this.
Teach your children from childhood to also sleep in the dark. They look and repeat after you, be the right role model for them.
I do not advise trying to replace full-fledged sleep without light with reception

/ Children's sleep

“Can a child sleep with the light on?” This is a seemingly simple question many parents ask themselves. And this is not surprising, because sleep is an integral part of the daily routine of a child of any age, and the harmonious development of your baby depends on its quality. We decided to look into this issue and clarify all the subtle points.

From the article you will learn everything about the features of children's sleep. We will find out whether it is harmful to sleep with the lights on, talk about childhood insomnia.

Features of children's sleep

Healthy sleep is the basis for the harmonious mental and physiological development of the child. But children, unfortunately, are not born with the rhythm of life that adults are used to living - in the first weeks of life, a cycle of 90 minutes of wakefulness replaces a cycle of sweet naps of the same duration. Gradually, the situation is changing - by the age of two, your family will definitely have a rhythm in which the child will sleep at night and have fun during the daytime.

Separately, it is worth talking about daytime sleep. We have already touched on this topic in the articles "" and "". In a nutshell, up to two years of age, a child should be forced to sleep during the day. Of course, in peaceful ways, but it’s worth it - it is at this age that it is necessary to be very strict about the daily routine. Later, if the sleepy hour is of no use, then you can completely refuse it, although experts advise making attempts at this.

Children dream more often than adults, so their sleep may be more restless - the baby tosses and turns, climbs out from under the covers, crushes the bed. Experts strongly recommend parents to monitor the behavior of the child during sleep, so that the baby is comfortable.

Why is it bad to sleep with light?

A question that worries many parents. On the one hand, the child may be afraid of the dark and have difficulty falling asleep without light. On the other hand, there is nothing useful in encouraging such a phobia.

First, sleep at a tender age has the main goal of adjusting the biological rhythms of the child. After all, your baby is not born right away with the idea that you need to sleep at night and have fun during the day. To accustom him to a certain regimen is the result of painstaking work. Will sleeping in the light contribute to this? Hardly. Most likely, everything will be the other way around - artificial lighting can interfere with the deep, calm and harmonious sleep of your son or daughter.

Secondly, along with confused sleep, your baby runs the risk of depression and nervous breakdowns. In addition, sleep problems can lead to a deterioration in the protective functions of the body's immune system.

Thirdly, the included light reduces the synthesis of melatonin in the brain. This hormone, in turn, regulates body temperature and blood pressure, keeps the body in good shape during wakefulness.

Fourth, experts note that sleeping with light can cause many chronic diseases in children. So you should take care to create the most comfortable conditions for the baby's sweet nap.

Some researchers are completely sure that unhealthy sleep in the light in the future can cause the appearance of various tumors (benign and malignant). Of course, it is not worth trusting such information 100%, but it is very worth it to understand for yourself that sleeping in the light is not useful.

So if you are still wondering if your baby should sleep in the light, read this block again and press the switch button.

“I have two daughters: Polina 4.5 and Mile 2.8. We practice separate sleep from birth, during the day in the light of the day, at night in the dark, but, as far as I understand, the fear of the dark is a logical stage in the development of a child’s imagination in the fifth year life, so you can not take it without attention. Polina is very impressionable, we read a lot together, her father tells her fictional stories, she watches fairy tales and fairy tale films - and often darkness (dark forest, dark corner, cave, sea depths) is the source of dangerous, scary, evil characters.
The child does not always understand the boundary between his fantasy and reality and can be completely frightened in everyday life, being in his daydreams. Therefore, as soon as Polina began to ask to leave the light (night lamp, starry sky projector) in the room, we did it. She then asked to keep the toilet light on until she was asleep, and the light is now on. If you criticize a child, shame him, you can only ruin relations with him, destroy trusting contact, and, of course, this will not help to reduce fear.
This will pass with time, the main thing is to remain calm and respectful of the child and his needs. Of course, the younger Mila also sleeps with a night light (after all, there is only one child!), It simply pleases her.
Happy mother Sofia Samsonova

Insomnia

If you believe the statistics, then almost 25% of children aged 1 to 5 years sleep poorly. Such unpleasant indicators are associated with many factors: from the wrong regimen to chronic diseases that affect the quality of rest. Common causes of insomnia include:

cutting teeth;
emotions received during the day;
problems of the digestive system;
diaper rash;
ear infections;
room climate (too warm and dry air).

How do you know if your child has insomnia? Everything is very simple - the baby cannot fall asleep for a long time, the nap is interrupted all the time, and during the day the child does not look full of energy. If hot milk and a bedtime story do not help, contact a specialist. You may need medical advice and medical attention.

It is absolutely impossible to treat insomnia on your own. Many medicines are contraindicated for children, so it is best to consult a doctor on this issue. Good means of traditional medicine: decoctions and infusions of plants. These include:

motherwort;
mint;
oregano;
lemon balm;
valerian root;
peony.

Perhaps, herbal bathing at night and massage with essential oils of these plants will help to cope with mild and short-term insomnia.

Components of good sleep

Good sleep is made up of a number of factors. We can say that the sweet night of the baby depends on how he spent the day. So you need to get ready for bed in advance.

Teach your child to fall asleep without your participation: after singing a lullaby or reading a fairy tale, you should not stand near the crib, but leave the room. So your son or daughter will quickly learn to fall asleep on their own. Try to fall asleep with your favorite toy. An adored bedside bear or other animal will guard your sleep throughout the night.

Do not try to feed your baby at night - this will adversely affect the quality of sleep. The baby may have nightmares, he will wake up and call his mother.

Watch the climate in the room - the room should be no more than 22 degrees, and the humidity should be at least 50%. Maybe you should think about buying a humidifier and ventilate the room more often.

Spend more time outdoors during the day. In addition, the child's leisure should be active. In other words, he must get tired and want to plunge into the arms of sleep in the evening. Before going to bed (2 hours before), you should stop active games and move on to calm activities: relaxing music, reading a book, a lullaby from mom - believe me, by the time you need to fall asleep, the child will go to bed with pleasure.

Our advice and recommendations are enough to make your child's sleep calm, sound and regular. We are sure that you will certainly defeat the regime, teach your son or daughter to fall asleep on time, so that you yourself have time for a more than well-deserved rest.