To reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, scientists are advising pregnant women to turn off or dim the lights in their homes a few hours before bedtime.
According to research from Northwestern Medicine, Northwestern University, US, the light in question also includes light coming from computer monitors and smartphone screens. The study noted that women who had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in a multi-site study had more light exposure three hours before sleep onset.
They did not differ in their light exposure during daytime or during sleep, or in their activity levels, compared to those who did not develop it.
“Our study suggests that exposure to light before bedtime may be an under-recognized but easily modifiable risk factor of gestational diabetes,” said lead study author Minji Kim, assistant professor at Northwestern University.
Growing evidence suggests that exposure to light at night before bedtime may be associated with impaired glucose regulation in non-pregnant adults.
Sleep deprivation can come from bright lights in your home and from devices like TVs, computers, and smartphones. However, little is known about the effect of evening light exposure during pregnancy on the risk of developing gestational diabetes, a common pregnancy complication with significant health implications for both mother and offspring.
The study, believed to be one of the first multi-site studies to examine light exposure before sleep on the risk of developing gestational diabetes, is published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine.
“It’s dangerous,” Kim said.
“Gestational diabetes is known to increase obstetric complications, and puts the mother at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and dementia. Offspring are also more likely to have obesity and high blood pressure as they get older, Kim said. Statistics show that women who have gestational diabetes are about 10 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who don’t have glucose problems during pregnancy, Kim said.
“We don’t think about the potential harm of keeping the environment bright from when we wake up until we go to bed,” Kim said.
“But it should be very dim for several hours before we go to bed. We probably don’t need as much light for what we regularly do in the evening,” Kim said.
Which source of bright light causes the problem is not yet known, but it could all add up, Kim said.
“Try to reduce whatever light is in your environment three hours before you go to bed,” Kim said. “It is best not to use your computer or phone during this period. But if you must use them, keep the screen as dim as possible,” Kim said, urging people to use the Night Light option and turn off blue light. To suggest doing
If pregnant women get gestational diabetes with their first pregnancy, they are more likely to get it with the next pregnancy. Exposure to light before bedtime increases heart rate and can lead to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, increased blood pressure.
Light exposure before sleep may also affect glucose metabolism through sympathetic hyperactivity, meaning that the heart rate increases before bed when it should go down.
“There seems to be an inappropriate activation of the fight or flight response when it is time to rest,” Kim said.
Data has shown that sympathetic hyperactivity can lead to cardiometabolic disease, a cluster of conditions including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, increased blood pressure and lipid imbalances, all leading to heart disease.
Between 2011 and 2013, 741 women in their second trimester were studied at eight clinical US sites. Participants’ light exposure was measured by an actigraph worn on their wrists.
The women were measured during their second trimester of pregnancy, the time when they get routine screening for gestational diabetes.
According to the results, after adjusting for various factors, pre-sleep light exposure remained significantly associated with gestational diabetes.
“Turning off the lights is one easy modification you can make,” Kim said.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)