Good or Bad: Sleeping With the Lights On | Uratex Blog

The truth behind my disrupted sleep is finally unveiled! For years, I thought it was normal for me to be waking up every 2 to 3 hours or so. I seldom sleep for 7 hours straight. Because I naturally wake up early, I was succumbed to believe that I was simply a light sleeper. Although recently, I was baffled with how I was waking up every single hour. By the time the sun was up, I could immediately feel the result of my lack of sleep, for I was feeling sluggish. I felt tired. Really tired.

Since high school, I was already accustomed to sleeping with the lights on because my room would be in a total black out if I turned the lights off (Yeah, yeah, I was a Scaredy Cat). It eventually turned into a habit, and I’m still kind of doing that. Turns out, it may not be a brilliant idea to sleep with the lights on.

Lights Screw Up Our Circadian Rhythm

When we talk about the Circadian Rhythm, this refers to our body processes: internal, biochemical, physiological and behavioral. These processes are affected by different aspects, one of which is the light-dark cycles of the world. Technically, our physiological self only reacts to what it feels. Normally, of course, we are awake during the day, and are supposed to be sleeping during the night. Daylight signals the suprachiasmatic nuclei (made up of tiny brain cells) to promote wakefulness. In a dark environment (like our bedrooms, minus the light), our body would produce melatonin, a hormone that triggers sleep.

via uratexblog.com