title: Electric light, particularly at night, disrupts human circadian rhythmicity: is that a problem?
abstract: Over the past 3 billion years, an endogenous circadian rhythmicity has developed in almost all life forms in which daily oscillations in physiology occur. This allows for anticipation of sunrise and sunset. This physiological rhythmicity is kept at precisely 24 h by the daily cycle of sunlight and dark. However, since the introduction of electric lighting, there has been inadequate light during the day inside buildings for a robust resetting of the human endogenous circadian rhythmicity, and too much light at night for a true dark to be detected; this results in circadian disruption and alters sleep/wake cycle, core body temperature, hormone regulation and release, and patterns of gene expression throughout the body. The question is the extent to which circadian disruption compromises human health, and can account for a portion of the modern pandemics of breast and prostate cancers, obesity, diabetes and depression. As societies modernize (i.e. electrify) these conditions increase in prevalence. There are a number of promising leads on putative mechanisms, and epidemiological findings supporting an aetiologic role for electric lighting in disease causation. These include melatonin suppression, circadian gene expression, and connection of circadian rhythmicity to metabolism in part affected by haem iron intake and distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA bugs@uchc.edu.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D057906:Circadian Clocks / Q000528:radiation effects; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D056925:Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017440:Photoperiod; D012890:Sleep
chemical_list: D056925:Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008543:Melanins
keywords: breast cancer; circadian disruption; circadian genes; iron; light at night