A giant study from Monash University followed over 86,000 people to see how light exposure impacted their mental health. Participants shared their sleep habits, how much light they saw during the day and night, and any mental health diagnoses they had. The big finding? People exposed to more light at night seemed more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. But that’s not all! People who got plenty of daytime sunshine were less likely to struggle with these conditions. This suggests a simple yet powerful way to support your mental well-being: embrace the sunshine during the day and dim the lights at night.

#LightExposureStudy #DaylightMentalHealth #NightLightRisk

Low daytime light and bright night-time light are associated with psychiatric disorders: an objective light study in greater than 85,000 UK Biobank participants Angus C. Burns, Daniel P. Windred, Martin K. Rutter, Patrick Olivier, Céline Vetter, Richa Saxena, Jacqueline M. Lane, Andrew J. K. Phillips, Sean W. Cain medRxiv 2022.10.16.22280934; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.16.22280934

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