Why Too Much Light in the Bedroom Is Bad for Your Heart

I remember a few years ago while I was at the Mayo Clinic as a fellow in training, we had the opportunity to learn from a distinguished world leader in cardiology. He came from one of the largest heart institutes in the world, where, he said, nobody wanted to be the first to leave the building. In fact, when he would leave late at night, most of his colleagues’ office lights were on and they were working. He and a few others had developed strategies to slip out of the building undetected by their late-working peers.

Medicine is not the only occupation which continues to increase the workday demands. Extended work hours take a toll on many of us mentality, socially, and physically.

Jobs that are really 9-to-5 are nearly impossible to find. Evenings and nights have become fertile times to increase work productivity and volume. Smart phones make us available 24 hours a day by email, text, or call. The night time that was once used to recharge our bodies and minds has been consumed by the ever-increasing demands of our “daytime” occupations.

Our bodies respond to a circadian rhythm – in other words, an internal clock. This clock is set by our exposure to light and darkness. Essentially all living organisms have their own internal clock. In humans, this master clock is located in the brain in a region called the hypothalamus.

What does do it to our minds and bodies – especially to our hearts – to extend our days with too much light and deprive ourselves of sleep?

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