Unplug! Too much light at night may lead to depression

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/25/health/time-light-depression/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12


By Laura Blue, Time.com
updated 10:11 AM EDT, Wed July 25, 2012


Here's another reason to log off at a reasonable hour: exposure to dim lighting at night — such as that generated by a TV screen, computer or night-light — may lead to depressive symptoms, new animal research suggests.

A study from Ohio State University Medical Center found that hamsters with chronic exposure to dim light at night showed signs of depression within just a few weeks: reduced physical activity compared with hamsters living in normal light-dark conditions, as well as less interest in sugar water (a treat for the hamsters), greater signs of distress when placed in water, and changes in the brain's hippocampus that are similar to brain changes seen in depressed people.

"The results we found in hamsters are consistent with what we know about depression in humans," Tracy Bedrosian, the first author the on the new study, told reporters.