Why Lights at Night Can Lead to Less Restful Sleep

Bite Size Psych took a scientific look at the reason why light at night interrupts sleeping patterns, suppresses melatonin production and disturbs circadian rhythms.

When you’re exposed to a significant amount of light, specifically of the blue wave, your body suppresses melatonin production to make you feel more awake. Normally this evolutionary design works pretty well with the coming of night and day, melatonin levels waxes and wanes giving us our circadian rhythm however, since the invention of artificial lights we’re being exposed to more and more light at nighttime and these effects can be pretty big.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.