Researchers Reveal Why A Night Light May Disrupt Sleep in Preschoolers
powerofpositivity.comJournal of Pineal Research. ADVERTISEMENT Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the research marks the latest in a series investigating the circadian rhythm of young children.
The study suggests that preschoolers have a higher sensitivity to night lights, with some showing more physiological impacts than others.“Our previous work showed that one, fairly high intensity of bright light before bedtime dampens melatonin levels by about 90% in young children,” said first author Lauren Hartstein, a postdoctoral fellow in the Sleep and Development Lab at CU Boulder. “With this study, we were very surprised to find high melatonin suppression across all intensities of light, even dim ones.” ADVERTISEMENT Light impacts our circadian rhythm more than any other biological or environmental factors.
Our central body clock regulates many functions in the body, from sleep to hunger to body temperature. When light hits the retina, a signal travels to a brain region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
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