Thread: Why do we find comfort in light?

Fear of the unknown. If a place is dark, you might not be entirely sure what's there, even if the place is familiar to you. When the lights are on, you can see everything. No threats, no fear.

I think it just has to with the fact that we're very visual creatures, and we become insecure when we're not able to see things around us - similar to the way a random sound, no matter how safe the source, can leave us jumpy. It's also probably because we simply don't know what's past us, whether it's safe or not. I don't know much else about this, though.

Very old survival instincts. Much harder to see a predator coming and defend yourself if your surroundings are poorly lit.

yea, now that i think about it, im usually scared of a robber stalking me in the dark when im in the dark with a knife.

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

Fear of the unknown. If a place is dark, you might not be entirely sure what's there, even if the place is familiar to you. When the lights are on, you can see everything. No threats, no fear.

fear of the unknown yes, but this doesn't always translate into darkness = unknown.
I take great comfort in the darkness around me own neighborhood, as I know everyone is asleep and dreaming. the thought of which is calming, to me.

of course, darkness when I'm dis-confident of what's around me is very disconcerting.

Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

when im in the dark with a knife.

wait what

Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

It has striked me interesting that when i go downstairs to get something, it looks foreboding until the lights go on. I began to wonder why we find light so comforting and not darkness. I don't believe in ghosts or anything paranormal. But, yet, darkness is creepy, yet light is nice and welcoming. Why is this?

Originally Posted by Seroquel

I'm exaggurating

Originally Posted by no-Name

fear of the unknown yes, but this doesn't always translate into darkness = unknown.
I take great comfort in the darkness around me own neighborhood, as I know everyone is asleep and dreaming. the thought of which is calming, to me.

of course, darkness when I'm dis-confident of what's around me is very disconcerting.

wait what

the stalker has a knife

Night=can't see anything=what is there?=oh crap there could be a stalker who wants to rape me in the dark=ahhhhhh
Light=ooo I can see everything=oh there's no stalker who wants to rape me=yayyyy no fear.

I don't think humans have very good night vision. Our eyes as well as our fears start playing tricks on us with shadows and in the darkness, and as has already been mentioned, survival instinct. I used to be really afraid of the dark my whole life and it tormented me as a child, but I finally made peace with it a few years ago when I began living nocturnally. However I'll always be a little afraid of the dark I'm sure. But as no-name mentioned, I too can take great comfort in the night. The moon is amazing, and the stillness...

It seems to me to just be another automatic emotional bias left over from when we lived in natural wilderness. Darkness obviously compromised survival much more then. Our culture and myths are obviously shaped by this instinct too so a whole other layer of this negative attitude towards darkness can be added on by the thought influence of our culture. You could also just not like being blind and stumbling around everywhere lol.

Originally Posted by Pan

The moon is amazing, and the stillness...

The moon gives off light. The moon although takes place during the night, is not of darkness.

Originally Posted by Atras

The moon gives off light. The moon although takes place during the night, is not of darkness.

Yeah, that falls under the category of "no shit sherlock".

No-name was talking about nighttime in his neighborhood, and I was talking about why I like nighttime in mine. I think the moon is pretty much always present at night, except during the new moon. But thanks for that clarification.

Hi guys I think it's because of our survival instincts, we can't see in the dark, so we get afraid, just thought I'd drop in there and inform you all of that.

Originally Posted by Pan

Yeah, that falls under the category of "no shit sherlock".

LMAO!
Sometimes I wonder what the hell goes through some people's heads.

Originally Posted by Marvo

Hi guys I think it's because of our survival instincts, we can't see in the dark, so we get afraid, just thought I'd drop in there and inform you all of that.

umm.... that was mentioned

Originally Posted by Wayfaerer

It seems to me to just be another automatic emotional bias left over from when we lived in natural wilderness. Darkness obviously compromised survival much more then. Our culture and myths are obviously shaped by this instinct too so a whole other layer of this negative attitude towards darkness can be added on by the thought influence of our culture. You could also just not like being blind and stumbling around everywhere lol.

Originally Posted by Supernova

Very old survival instincts. Much harder to see a predator coming and defend yourself if your surroundings are poorly lit.

yea

Originally Posted by Pan

Yeah, that falls under the category of "no shit sherlock".

No-name was talking about nighttime in his neighborhood, and I was talking about why I like nighttime in mine. I think the moon is pretty much always present at night, except during the new moon. But thanks for that clarification.

My bad I misunderstood what you were saying.

No worries

Ima chip in to the 'survival instincts' crowd.

Also, the brain develops by noticing patterns. Due to the films, stories, anecdotes and the like that surround us from birth, we notice that darkness is a common element of things with an emotional quality of fear. Thus the brain comes to associate these two things inherently.

When you go downstairs at night, you need the lights on to see where you're going. You probably feel scared and unsafe until the lights are on because you can't see what's in front of you, anyone would. When I know I'm in a safe place, darkness is my friend, though I do need to have the lights on to get a drink or go to the toilet in the night. I can no longer sleep with the lights on, I used to though, all the time.

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ♥

The darkness of night time is comforting. All the kids should be asleep. Hell, most of the neighborhood's asleep and it is most peaceful.
But pitch darkness, as in walking down stairs into a basement... as others have said: what the heck is down there? Did someone leave something on the stairs? Am I about to fall and break my neck? Could someone have snuck into the house who plan on ambushing me?

I used to be really afraid of the dark too and slept with lights on. Now I can't stand the slightest light or noise when I finally crash. When I was a teen, I always went for walks at night to sneak my smokes. If I became scared, my instinct was always to run. But I quickly realized that running causes extreme panic. It came to be that I would take deep breaths, clear my mind, and REALLY "open" my ears. Then I'd insult myself: "Hey, stupid, calm the heck down!". It eventually stuck and I wasn't as scared anymore.
But I still have a natural hesitance of heading into a dark environment. I think, that's just a smart thing. Be careful and aware but not terrified.

Originally Posted by Zhaylin

The darkness of night time is comforting. All the kids should be asleep. Hell, most of the neighborhood's asleep and it is most peaceful.
But pitch darkness, as in walking down stairs into a basement... as others have said: what the heck is down there? Did someone leave something on the stairs? Am I about to fall and break my neck? Could someone have snuck into the house who plan on ambushing me?

I used to be really afraid of the dark too and slept with lights on. Now I can't stand the slightest light or noise when I finally crash. When I was a teen, I always went for walks at night to sneak my smokes. If I became scared, my instinct was always to run. But I quickly realized that running causes extreme panic. It came to be that I would take deep breaths, clear my mind, and REALLY "open" my ears. Then I'd insult myself: "Hey, stupid, calm the heck down!". It eventually stuck and I wasn't as scared anymore.
But I still have a natural hesitance of heading into a dark environment. I think, that's just a smart thing. Be careful and aware but not terrified.

nice advice, im usually so panic

I am more at ease in dim light or dark than in light. Main reason is that my eyes are over sensitive to the light. I don't recall being afraid of the dark in my life, not even as a kid. But naturally, I am also more careful in dark because I cannot rely on eyesight that much. I think you can pretty much learn to like dark and banish the fear of the dark. Requires a bit of patience and work though.

You can't see in the dark. So anything can be in the dark. Like a mountain lion or Darth Vader. Or both. Darth Lion.
YouTube user Philhellenes made an interesting video on this subject. It starts around 1:20.

We're visual beings and want to be completely aware of our surroundings. It helps us feel more connected with the reality, whether awake or dreaming.