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Study: regular light-dark cycle, less artificial light decrease depression

According to IOL, sitting in front of a computer or TV screen late into the night or leaving it on while falling asleep could increase chances of becoming depressed, US scientists say.

30 Jul 2012

A study by a team of neuroscientists at Ohio State University Medical Centre partly funded by the US Department of Defence, gives screen-addicted night owls something to think about.

The researchers said a surge in exposure to artificial light at night in the last 50 years had coincided with rising rates of depression, particularly among women, who are twice as prone to artificial light related depression as men. Although exposure to night-time light has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and obesity, the relationship with mood disorders is poorly understood.

The good news, said Tracy Bedrosian, who led the study, is that people who stay up late in front of the television and computer "may be able to undo some of the harmful effects just by going back to a regular light-dark cycle and minimising their exposure to artificial light at night," IOL says.

Read the full article on www.iol.co.za.