Abstract
Studies have indicated that night lights interfere with the circadian rhythm in the human body and threaten human health. Our previous studies indicated that continuous light exposure severely damages the reproductive endocrine system of female rats resembles polycystic ovary syndrome in women. In this study, we used the continuous measurement method to observe changes in the basal physiological indicators of female rats in an abnormal light exposure environment. Our study results indicated that in female rats: 1) the body temperature first continuously and gradually increased followed by a gradually decrease; 2) the increase in body weight slowed down at the late stage of the experimental process; 3) the random blood glucose level increased, and the fasting serum insulin level decreased; and 4) the serum C-reactive protein level increased. Our study investigated for the first time the correlation between the duration of continuous light exposure in female rats and the continuously measured basal physiological indicators and preliminarily discussed the effect of continuous light exposure on female basal metabolism and the possible inflammation mechanism. We propose that long-term continuous exposure to night lights in females severely damages their immune and metabolic systems.
Highlights
In modern society, bright lights are used at night to extend the life and production time of people; as a result, human sleep time is greatly reduced
Our results showed that after chronic continuous light exposure in female rats: 1) the body temperature first continuously and gradually increased followed by a gradually decrease; 2) the increase of body weight slowed down at the late stage of the experimental process; 3) the random blood glucose level increased, and the fasting serum insulin level decreased; and 4) the serum C-reactive protein level increased
The continuous light exposure caused the disappearance of the circadian rhythm in rats and maintained the rats at a 24-h continuous state of activity [17]; the 24-h total activity amount was inhibited by light stimulation [18]
Summary
Bright lights are used at night to extend the life and production time of people; as a result, human sleep time is greatly reduced. Studies have shown that night lights interfere with the circadian rhythm in the human body and inhibit melatonin release [4] [5], causing sleep disorders in people. Our previous studies showed that in a continuous light exposure environment, female rats presented deregulation of sexual cycles, polycystic ovary, hair loss, an increase in androgen, and weight loss [11]. It is necessary to study the effects of long-term continuous light exposure on the human body, especially those on female physiological functions, and the possible mechanisms of these changes to protect people from health issues resulting from elongated light exposure and/or lack of sleep and sleep rhythm disorders. Elongation of light exposure time in the environment of experimental animals can simulate the real nightlife status to study the effects of elongated light exposure in humans
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