People who like to sleep with the light on may think twice as it could lead to depression, according to new research.
Light at night, even from a TV, causes changes in the brain linked to depressive disorders, scientists revealed.
Female Siberian hamsters exposed to dim light every night for eight weeks showed significant changes in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. ‘Even dim light at night is sufficient to provoke depressive-like behaviours in hamsters, which may be explained by the changes we saw in their brains after eight weeks of exposure,’ said Tracy Bedrosian, co-author of the study by Ohio State University.
‘The hippocampus plays a key role in depressive disorders, so finding changes there is significant.’
The night-time light used in the study was not bright – the equivalent of having a television on in a darkened room.
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Female Siberian hamsters exposed to dim light every night for eight weeks showed significant changes in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. ‘Even dim light at night is sufficient to provoke depressive-like behaviours in hamsters, which may be explained by the changes we saw in their brains after eight weeks of exposure,’ said Tracy Bedrosian, co-author of the study by Ohio State University.
‘The hippocampus plays a key role in depressive disorders, so finding changes there is significant.’
The night-time light used in the study was not bright – the equivalent of having a television on in a darkened room.
Read the full article here
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