You could gain weight simply by being exposed to light at nighttime, says a new study.
Researchers found that mice exposed to a relatively dim light at night over eight weeks had a body mass gain that was about 50% more than other mice that lived in a standard light-dark cycle. This held true despite no differences in activity levels or amount of food eaten.
The study appeared last week in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” journal.
One conclusion drawn was that mice living with light at night tended to eat at times they normally wouldn’t. Something about light at night was making them want to eat at the wrong times, which makes their bodies less efficient at breaking down and metabolizing their food.
Of course, such results need to be confirmed in people. If they are, it would suggest that late-night eating might be a particular risk factor for obesity. And really, cutting down on this is something we can do now to help keep the pounds off without waiting for future study results.
In one study, mice either had 24 hours of constant light, a standard light-dark cycle (16 hours of light, eight hours of dark), or 16 hours of daylight and eight hours of dim light. Researchers measured how much food was eaten each day, as well as body mass.
They found that mice in dim light at night had significantly higher increases in body mass. At the study’s end, these mice had gained 12 grams of body mass, compared to eight grams for standard light-dark cycle. And they were more likely to develop glucose intolerance, a pre-marker for diabetes.
One problem was that they ate their food at odd hours. In subsequent studies, the researchers learned that when you eat is critical to weight gain. They believe that light at night disrupts levels of the hormone melatonin, which is involved in metabolism. This could extend to using the computer or watching television well into the wee hours.
It seems a proper sleep, in the darkness, is ideal for helping with any plans on shedding pounds.
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