Washington: Women who sleep with artificial lights on tend to gain weight or develop obesity, a recent study has claimed. The study is the first to find an association between any exposure to artificial light at night while sleeping and weight gain in women. The results suggested that cutting off lights at bedtime could reduce women's chances of becoming obese.
Lead author Yong-Moon (Mark) Park said, "The research suggests a viable public health strategy to reduce obesity incidence in women." The research team used questionnaire data from 43,722 women. The participants, aged 35-74 years, had no history of cancer or cardiovascular disease and were not shift workers, daytime sleepers, or pregnant when the study began.
The study questionnaire asked whether the women slept with no light, a small nightlight, light outside of the room, or a light or television on in the room. The scientists used weight, height, waist and hip circumference, and body mass index measurements taken at baseline, as well as self-reported information on weight at baseline and follow-up five years later.