Sleeping with the lights on/off..

[Mud]

So I've read it's bad to sleep with the lights on and it's best to sleep in a setting dark as possible. It doesn't surprise me, but my question is; How does it affect dreams? Also curious what DV has to say about the health aspect of it, I'm still researching but I wanted to bring it here. Light During Sleep Can Trigger Depression | MedicMagic.Net <- wouldn't surprise me, much. Sleeping with the Lights On Could Make You Fat | MedicMagic.Net <- hmm? that one might surprise me. DNA, Melatonin, and Sleeping with Lights On <- This one says Sleeping with lights on may interfere with how our melatonin does its job of protecting our DNA. There’s this theory that melatonin is affected negatively when sleeping at night with lights on—especially with kids. However, what’s for certain is that suppressed melatonin activity or reduced melatonin amount can initiate cancer or even contribute to its progression. With melatonin weakened to shield our DNA, the latter may become so susceptible to oxidation. The result may be a mutated DNA that runs berserk and turns horrifyingly carcinogenic. These are the findings of Professor Russel Reiter of the University of Texas. He teaches Cellular and Structural Biology. I am looking into this further right now. Interesting and a little freaky. Might have to start killing the lights more often - just to be safe than sorry. Which brings me back to my question here; Does it affect dreams at all, or just health? I can't really say that I notice a big difference but I haven't been paying attention for too long. If I do dream better with the lights on, will popping melatonin even out the health issues? hah and now I find this: How Light Affects Sleep? "Sleeping with the light on can impair a person's body clock." I think my clock works better with the lights on while i sleep, my internal alarm clock still amazes me sometimes - but my waking hours are a different story, so maybe sleeping with the lights on contributes to my lack of schedule.. Hmmm. I'm going to try to start paying attention to how much energy i have in dreams when the lights are off, compared to on. Lucidity levels will be interesting to also compare but I haven't been aiming for it lately.

[Mud]

i'm hoping someone could debunk this stuff.

[nina]

I can't imagine wanting to sleep with the lights on...why would anyone want to? Are you afraid of the dark?

[Mud]

HAHA, no, i just often fall asleep with them on. Not very environmentally friendly, i know. I am very comfortable in the dark. Sometimes when i finally get tired, i'll turn the lights off to go to bed and the dark wakes me right up. the red/light i see through my eyelids with the lights on can also be nice when i'm getting sleepy. however, this is more a topic of interest to me, than some sort of issue i have.

[nina]

Well yes, obviously light will mess with your circadium rhythms. You are not even supposed to be around any bright light for an hour before you want to go to bed. This is why most people have so much trouble getting to sleep. Messes with your melatonin levels and such. Sleeping with lights on will probably result in a lighter sleep, though, so you might be more inclined to get lucky with a lucid? I remember one time I fell asleep with some candles burning and I woke up in the middle of the night and saw this dim candlelight and it was so pretty that I just drifted off into a magical WILD. I have a lot of lucids during the day time too...so maybe the light might have a positive effect on the lucid dreaming, but an overall negative effect on your sleep health.