Sleeping With Artificial Light At Night Associated With Weight Gain In Women

Sleeping with a television or light on in the room may be a risk factor for gaining weight or developing obesity, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

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The research, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, is the first to find an association between any exposure to artificial light at night while sleeping and weight gain in women. The results suggest that cutting off lights at bedtime could reduce women's chances of becoming obese. The research team used questionnaire data from 43,722 women in the Sister Study, a cohort study that examines risk factors forbreast cancer and other diseases. The participants, aged 35-74 years, had no history of cancer or cardiovascular disease and were not shift workers, daytime sleepers, or pregnant when the study began. The study questionnaire asked whethe