Light Desynchronosis and Health

Abstract

The review summarizes the modern knowledge of the impact of day-night, light-darkness rhythm disorders on the aging process and on the risk of development of the age-related conditions. Significant evidence has been obtained of that the constant artificial illumination and the daylight of the North has a stimulating effect on the occurrence and de-velopment of tumours in laboratory animals. It has been shown that long-term shift work, trans-meridian flights (jet-lag) and insomnia increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and ma-lignancies in humans. Particular attention is given to the studies where the relationship between light intensity, light wavelength and its ability to suppress the synthesis of melatonin produced at night in the pineal gland, are investigated. It has been established that melatonin synthesis is most effectively suppressed with blue light sources of a wave-length from 446 to 477 nm. The use of exogenous melatonin prevents premature aging of the reproductive system and the body as a whole prevents the development of immunesuppression, metabolic syndrome and tumours caused by light pollution. An urgent task is to develop recommendations for optimizing the illumination of workplaces and res-idential premises, of cities and towns as a preven-tion measure for premature aging and age-related pathology, which, ultimately, will contribute to the long-term maintaining of performance and improv-ing the quality of life.