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Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

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Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#41

Post by harlanji »

homero wrote: post #3

I think a lot of studies like this are just wrong. When I was a kid, I couldn't sleep without a light on because I'd get depressed. So later on in life if I didn't remember that, I'd think that I just had a light on and now I'm depressed. I think depressed people like a little light. Much like they say red meat causes cancer, I don't think it's the red meat. I think it's how it's cooked. Red meat is usually barbecued…

Maybe a bit OT, but my understanding of meat causing cancer is that if you don’t eat enough fiber to clear out the intestinal sludge then it harbors the conditions for cancerous cells to come about. I need to follow up on that more. Even more OT, but it’s irrelevant now as I took a break from meat a year ago after my Plated boxes piled up over the holidays and I couldn’t eat it fast enough . I noticed how supple my body was after a while and got to questioning the food industry and finding too many answers related to my health that I didn’t like. Eating enough seasonal fruit is beneficial in any case, the water clears out toxins. Good point about meat char, seems minimal compared to gunk buildup from an overall health perspective. I dunno if we really thrive as meat eaters anyway, given my health then and now.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#42

Post by cellularmitosis »

WalterSear wrote: post #36
lkrubner wrote: post #33

Should we assume that the light itself is causing the depression? Or should we assume that the light leads to poor sleep, and then the poor sleep is what triggers the depression?

And how does poor sleep causing depression square with sleep deprivation alleviating it?

I could imagine that being chronically deprived of quality sleep is different than skipping an entire circadian cycle once per week.

Edit: I recently made the mistake (for a few months) of taking my medication before bed, rather than in the morning. This included vitamin D. Guess what happens when the body gets a dose of vitamin D at night? No quality sleep for you! So I certainly sympathize with the quest for quality sleep.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#45

Post by quotemstr »

icebraining wrote: post #10
mrfusion wrote: post #8

It seems like a study like this could have actually modified the light levels and measured the changes.

Actually, they didn't touch the lights at all, they only measured the lights that people already were exposed to. They write that "an interventional method, such as a randomized controlled trial using a LAN exposure, is not possible because of ethical concerns".

If "ethical concerns" prevent even this mild and useful intervention, ethics has turned into anti-science paranoia. There has got to be a middle ground between mad science and today's bureaucratic IRB busybodies.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#46

Post by jk2323 »

homero wrote: post #3

I think a lot of studies like this are just wrong. When I was a kid, I couldn't sleep without a light on because I'd get depressed. So later on in life if I didn't remember that, I'd think that I just had a light on and now I'm depressed. I think depressed people like a little light. Much like they say red meat causes cancer, I don't think it's the red meat. I think it's how it's cooked. Red meat is usually barbecued…

"Much like they say red meat causes cancer, I don't think it's the red meat."

Try thinking again: http://www.yourstylishlife.com/german-nobel-laureate-shocked...

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#47

Post by Turing_Machine »

Herodotus38 wrote: post #44

In prehistoric times, before shelter was common, would a half or full moon cause the same effect? I just wonder about how actually natural a pitch black sleep is.

Perhaps that's where the legends about people going wonky at the time of the full moon came from?

Werewolves, "lunatics", etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunatic

Just a speculation.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#48

Post by Izkata »

lkrubner wrote: post #33

Should we assume that the light itself is causing the depression? Or should we assume that the light leads to poor sleep, and then the poor sleep is what triggers the depression?

Currently on the front page: "The antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16557500

A quick skim makes it sound a bit more complicated, only working on people who already have depression. May answer the question though.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#49

Post by Sohakes »

homero wrote: post #3

I think a lot of studies like this are just wrong. When I was a kid, I couldn't sleep without a light on because I'd get depressed. So later on in life if I didn't remember that, I'd think that I just had a light on and now I'm depressed. I think depressed people like a little light. Much like they say red meat causes cancer, I don't think it's the red meat. I think it's how it's cooked. Red meat is usually barbecued…

I kind of agree about the light. Everyone I know that needs some light on during the night needs it because of some problem. Either the person is afraid of being in total dark, which is a sign of anxiety and is associated with depression, or have some other problem.

I don't like sleeping with the lights on, but it became a necessity because I have frequent sleep terrors where I wake up confused in the middle of my room. A light helps me understand what's happening and where I am faster, and I don't collide into things as much. Sleep terrors are associated with some mental problems, so there would be a correlation between mental problems and the fact that people have the lights on too (considering I'm not the only one who does that), but both things are not causally connected.

Re: Sleeping in rooms with even a little light can increase risk of depression

#50

Post by Izkata »

bonniemuffin wrote: post #37
icebraining wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, they didn't touch the lights at all, they only measured the lights that people already were exposed to. They write that "an interventional method, such as a randomized controlled trial using a LAN exposure, is not possible because of ethical concerns".

It seems like giving half the people blackout curtains and then monitoring depression levels would be perfectly ethical, since it's expected to improve their life, if anything.

The problem with that is the placebo effect..
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