Every night before I go to bed, I brush my teeth and put on my pajamas – and then I put on a purple silk eye mask (the color was my wife’s choice).
To be honest, this is more exciting than it sounds: it’s about how I can protect myself from type 2 diabetes.
Over the past year I’ve been on a health campaign, doing research and doing what I could to ensure I live longer, happier, healthier lives.
I still want to lose those last few pounds of belly fat, which I know all too well are bad for me.
My kids might joke that it makes me cuddly, but that fat produces toxins that put me at greater risk for cancer, stroke or heart attack.
So I’ve been eating healthy and have given up the meal deal can of coke, ultra-processed sandwich and bag of chips that I used to eat every day at work. I’ve also cut down on my alcohol and started running 4 miles to work most days.
Many of us have some form of light on in our bedrooms at night, writes Professor Rob Galloway (file image)
But that fat continues to stubbornly resist, despite my best efforts.
But a recent article published in an obscure journal, The Lancet Regional Health Europe, may hold the answer for me – and for anyone else struggling to lose weight.
That’s where the eye mask comes in.
Researchers from Flinders University in Australia reported that exposure to nighttime light disrupts people’s biological clocks, negatively affecting their metabolism and increasing their risk of weight gain and diabetes.
This is based on an analysis of figures from the UK Biobank, an impressive research database with information on more than half a million people.
UK Biobank is an ongoing project that began in 2006 and collects health data through detailed questionnaires and physical assessments, as well as blood and urine samples. Researchers use all of this to learn more about diseases and their triggers.
The Flinders team looked at data from 84,000 participants, all of whom were given a monitor to measure the amount of light they were exposed to at night for a week. This was then compared with data from those who developed type 2 diabetes over the following eight years.
The results were astonishing: Nearly 2,000 people were diagnosed with diabetes during the study period. Those exposed to more light at night were at greatest risk: People exposed to 0-20 percent more light than the average participant had a 29 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those with lower-than-average levels of nighttime light.
People with 20-40 percent more light exposure had a 39 percent higher risk; and people with 40-50 percent more light exposure had a 53 percent higher risk.
Obviously, this was an observational study – and not the gold standard of evidence, a randomized clinical trial – so the results gave us correlation, but not necessarily causation.
But it seems clear to me that the actual exposure to light was the causative factor. First, as the amount of light increased, so did the incidence of diabetes. But more importantly, there is a biological explanation: we now know that light at night disrupts our sleep and our biological clock – the internal clock that regulates our sleep-wake cycle.
This disruption has major consequences: it can affect insulin sensitivity or the response of our cells to insulin, the hormone that transports sugar (or glucose, as it is scientifically called) from the blood into the cells.
Because our cells are less sensitive, the glucose level in the blood rises and more insulin is produced.
Initially, this process turns excess glucose into fat. But over time, the process becomes so stretched that blood glucose levels remain high, leading to type 2 diabetes.
The problem with exposure to light at night is that our bodies are not prepared for it and it reduces the production of melatonin, a hormone that plays a crucial role in helping us sleep. Melatonin also regulates blood sugar levels; normal melatonin levels mean that you don’t feel hungry at night.
Add to this the fact that sleep deprivation can disrupt the hormones that regulate hunger, causing levels of ghrelin (which stimulates appetite) to increase and leptin (which makes you feel full) to decrease, resulting in increased hunger – and we know where that leads: weight gain.
For someone who works shifts, including nights, and whose four-month-old baby shares the bedroom, it’s not surprising that I sleep pretty poorly. Plus, we have a night light on so we can check on the baby.
Add to that the fact that when I try to sleep during the day, light seeps in because the blackout curtains don’t fit perfectly, and all of this could explain why I’m having such a hard time losing those last few pounds.
Professor Galloway has done research and done what he can to ensure he lives a longer, happier, healthier life
And I’m not alone: many of us have some form of light on in our bedrooms at night – electronic alarm clocks, for example, or mobile phones that light up with a message on them, or night lights, or perhaps a door left open with the landing light on.
And then there is the light from outside our homes – perhaps streetlights, shining through our imperfect, non-blackout shutters, blinds or curtains.
This research shows that even small amounts of light can be harmful when you’re trying to sleep.
And it’s not just about weight gain: Poor sleep has been linked to poor cognitive function, mood swings, increased risk of depression and infections, and poor athletic performance.
It also increases the risk of heart attack, both in the long and short term. A 2014 study found that there were 24 percent more heart attacks on the Mondays after the clocks go forward in the spring, when sleep is reduced by an hour, compared to other Mondays.
This is where the sleep mask comes in. I probably paid way too much for it (over £60, drowsysleepco.com) but it really blocks out the light and the silk makes it so comfortable.
I also think it is starting to work. I am sleeping better and waking up less during the night – much to my wife’s annoyance when she is awake to feed and I am completely out of it!
But more importantly, I feel less tired the next day and my weight is starting to change a little.
Okay, this is anecdotal and I’ve also started looking at other factors that help my sleep: I haven’t had coffee since lunch and I try to eat dinner a little earlier in the evening than I used to.
I also started taking a magnesium tablet in the evening. I could just as easily have taken a supplement of the amino acid glycine or taurine, or Ashwagandha, which comes from a plant that grows in India.
There is no evidence that low doses of these substances are harmful. Some studies have shown that they can be effective in improving the duration and quality of sleep.
But I would be careful about taking sleeping pills unless it is absolutely necessary. They can help you fall asleep, but they do not provide the natural sleep, with its different phases, that is so essential for health.
And like all other medicines, they also carry risks.
I have seen so many elderly patients take zopiclone (a commonly prescribed drug) at night, sleep with the light on, wake up to the light, and then trip and break their hip because of their zopiclone drowsiness. (The drug increases the amount of a chemical in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which slows down the functioning of brain neurons, making you drowsy.)
And yes, try a mask.
In short, sleep is not a sign of weakness or laziness. It is truly the key to a healthier, happier, longer life.
@drrobgalloway
