The night worker, the latest layer or insomniac would be at greater risk of cancer than people sleeping early and especially in a completely dark?
As noted by Dr. George Brainard, a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University who has studied for 20 years the effects of light on human biology, humanity has lived without electric light over thousands and thousands years. The human body is made to be active during the sunny hours of the day, and is made to sleep during the dark of night.
The modern world has changed the rules of nature. The man now has an artificial nighttime lighting, especially strong in large urban centers, and business habits have changed, many people in jobs where hours of work may be the night, let alone night owls who stay active and awake until the wee hours of the morning.
This rhythm of life goes completely against the normal biological rhythms, called circadian rhythm. An internal rhythm, alternating between action and rest, wakefulness and sleep. This natural rhythm that is synchronized with the natural light of day and night. (more…)
