The Health Costs of our Late-Night Light Addiction

n the summer of 2012, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy stating that nighttime light exposure is hazardous to human health. “The primary human concerns with nighttime lighting include disability glare [the reduction of visibility caused by bright light, and a major driving risk]... and various health effects,” read. “Among the latter are potential carcinogenic effects related to melatonin suppression, especially breast cancer.” Even low levels of light, the report said, could suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that’s secreted at night, which