LED Street Lights Could Be Harmful to Your Health

LED street lights are so hazardous to people’s health that the American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted an official policy about them.

Adopted unanimously at the AMA’s annual meeting in Chicago on June 14, 2016, the policy comes in response to the growing number of LED street lights in the country. An association committee issued guidelines on how communities can choose LED streetlights “to minimize potential harmful human health and environmental effects.”

Long-lasting LED lights are quickly replacing existing streetlights because they save municipalities money on energy and maintenance. But the AMA’s stance reflects the importance of properly designing new technologies and the tight link between light and human health.

In the statement, the AMA recommends that outdoor lighting at night, especially street lights, should have a color temperature (CT) no greater than 3,000 Kelvin (K). A light’s CT is a measure of the spectral content of light from a source – how much blue, green, yellow, and red there is in it. A higher CT rating usually means a light contains more blue content, which makes the light appear whiter. [1]

Bright LED street lights have been shown to make people feel safer. They also make it easier for police to distinguish the colors of the cars they are chasing. [2]

This Lights Comes with Risk

But blue light has a dark side. Research suggests that blue light can prevent people from sleeping, or make them sleep poorly, because it throws off the body’s circadian rhythm. This is one of the problems the AMA sites in its statement.

In addition to street lights, blue light also emanates from cell phones, computers, tablets, and other electronic devices. This is why so many doctors and health experts recommend never using these gadgets at bedtime.

According to researchers at Harvard, blue light is useful during the day because it boosts attention, reaction times, and mood. But blue light also suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone secreted by the brain that makes people feel sleepy at night.

Melatonin boosts the immune system, and is known to have anti-aging properties, as well.

Green light also suppresses the secretion of melatonin, but blue light suppresses it for about twice as long and was shown in studies to shift circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours versus 1.5 hours).

A white LED light at CT 4,000 K or 5,000 K contains a high level of short-wavelength light blue. Many cities, including Seattle and New York City, have chosen these CT-count lights to retrofit their street lighting.

The CT count of 4,000K or 5,000K in LED lights is significantly higher than the CT count of incandescent bulbs, which may have a CT of 2,400K.

But many people have started complaining about the harshness of these lights, and this is the other problem the AMA refers to in the statement. In Davis, California, for example, residents have demanded a complete replacement of the high color temperature LED street lights.

The new “white” LED lights come with bothersome glare that can cause discomfort in the eyes. The light concentration and blue light in white LED’s cause pupillary constriction in the eyes. Blue light scatters more in the eye than the longer wavelengths of yellow and red, and sufficient levels can damage the retina. 

The AMA says in the statement:

“The detrimental effects of high-intensity LED lighting are not limited to humans. Excessive outdoor lighting disrupts many species that need a dark environment. For instance, poorly designed LED lighting disorients some bird, insect, turtle and fish species, and U.S. national parks have adopted optimal lighting designs and practices that minimize the effects of light pollution on the environment….

“The AMA recommends an intensity threshold for optimal LED lighting that minimizes blue-rich light. The AMA also recommends all LED lighting should be properly shielded to minimize glare and detrimental human health and environmental effects, and consideration should be given to utilize the ability of LED lighting to be dimmed for off-peak time periods.”

Dr. Maya Babu, an AMA board member, also says in the statement:

“Despite the energy efficiency benefits, some LED lights are harmful when used as street lighting.”

Sources:

[1] The Conversation

[2] Treehugger

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Just THINKING About Mobile Devices Disrupts Kids’ Sleep

Parents, shut off your kids’ mobile devices at night and get them out of the room, because a new analysis shows that children with access to smartphones and tablets at night don’t get enough sleep and are groggy during the day – whether they use them or not. [1]

Researchers reviewed 20 previous studies and discovered that kids who use portable media devices around bedtime were more than twice as likely as kids who didn’t use them to have short sleep times. Not only that, but the same was found of kids who had access to the devices, but didn’t actually use them.

Lead study author Ben Carter of King’s College London said:

“A lot of people argue that it’s the device light emission that leads to sleep outcomes, but even if you’re not using it, even having the presence of the device near you affects sleep.

My personal view is it’s due to continuous stimulation from things like social media engagement.

Your social group is active and you can be thinking about it. If I text a loved one an hour before bed then I’m hoping I might get a reply.”

Unconscious but Connected

Carter and his colleagues looked at studies of children aged 6 to 19 years, covering a total of more than 125,000 kids, which measured exposures to tablets, smartphones, and other types of mobile devices, but excluded research involving TV, personal computers, or sources of electromagnetic radiation.

In every study, bedtime media device use was linked to trouble falling or staying asleep, and poor daytime function due to sleepiness.

Kids who used media devices at bedtime were found to have insufficient sleep times, considered less than 10 hours per night for children, and less than 9 hours for teens.

Children who had access to mobile devices at bedtime at least 3 times a week, or who had a device in their sleep environment, also had poorer measures of sleep quality and quantity than kids with less or no access.

Dr. Charles Czeisler, director of the Sleep Health Institute and chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said:

“It’s normal to wake up during the night but when the phone is there, many people instead of just turning over will tap on the phone ostensibly to check the time, will see 15 text messages from their buddy or whatever, then 2 hours later they’re going back to bed.”

Czeisler, who co-authored an editorial accompanying the review, added:

“It’s very engaging technology and when it’s present in the bedroom it reduces sleep duration.”

In other words, kids are continuously stimulated by devices in their environment, even when they are not using them.

Carter explained:

“One theory I hold is that there may be the effect of continuous mental stimulation and engagement which is keeping children awake.” [2]

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: What Parents Can Do:

In the editorial, Czeisler writes that blue-light blocking apps for smartphones and tablets can help reduce some of the negative sleep effects caused by mobile devices. Blue light interferes with the body’s internal clock and makes the brain tell your body you should be awake, when you really should be snoring away in your bed.

Source: How It Works

Additionally, Czeisler says:

“For those concerned about the effect of media use on sleep time, technology is now available to restrict service between designated hours or allow a maximum daily duration of media use each day, while allowing for parental overrides in exceptional circumstances. Such programs can be used to reinforce consistent bedtimes and wake times, which are vital for sleep health, especially in children and adolescents.”

It’s likely your smartphone has an option to shut off notifications between specified hours of your choosing. I know mine does. Of course, it’s also likely your kids know how to turn notifications back on…

The most effective (and perhaps most obvious) solution is to keep mobile devices out of kids’ bedrooms. Have children and teens charge their devices in another room. You can purchase family charging stations at just about any store that sells smartphones. [3]

It’s also important for parents to instill in their kids the importance of “winding down” before bedtime. About an hour or so before bed, have your child take a calming bath and read a book together. Have teens “unplug” and read a book or do some other quiet, relaxing activity before lights-out.

Most importantly, parents should model healthy sleeping habits. Establish your own “winding down” routine, and make sure if you buy a family charging station, that your device is plugged in, too.

Sources:

[1] Reuters

[2] CBC

[3] Common Sense Media

How It Works

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Why Are Cancer Cases in Children on the Rise in the U.K.?

Over the past 16 years, the number of children diagnosed with cancer in the U.K. has shot up 40%, a new study shows; and experts are warning of a cancer “epidemic.”

The reason? Modern life is making people sick.

The study comes from researchers at Bristol University in the U.K., where many children spend less time outdoors than U.S. prison inmates, opting instead to stay inside and play video games or use tablets and smartphones.

Dr. Denis Henshaw, Professor of Human Radiation Effects at Bristol University, said:

“When you look at cancers such as childhood leukemia there is no doubt that environmental factors are playing a big role. We were shocked to see the figures, and it’s modern lifestyle I’m afraid.”

The Numbers

In the United Kingdom, over 4,000 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In children aged1 to 14, cancer is the leading cause of death. [1]

The 40% increase in cases is due, in part, to population growth. The incidence rate per 100,000 people has risen by 30%. [2]

The increase in cancer diagnoses among children and young people since 1998 is alarming. The number of thyroid cases has doubled; and diagnoses of other cancers have likewise increased – colon cancer, 200%; ovarian cancer, 70%; and cervical cancer, 50%. [1]

Alasdair Philips, trustee and science adviser to the charity Children with Cancer U.K., said:

“We are losing the battle against childhood cancer.

It is so many lives lost, so many futures unfulfilled, so many devastated families – families debilitated, parents forced to give up work, live in hospital, young siblings stressed. At times I feel overwhelmed.

It is an epidemic. Up to age 14 we do see much better five-year survival rates, but with most types of cancer 50 per cent of children will die within several years. More children are dying.

Quite often cancer can leave survivors with impacted fertility and mental ability because of the caustic nature of treatment. And there is a significantly higher risk of developing an adult cancer in their forties or fifties.” [3]

The Face of the Enemy

The very things that have made the 21st Century such a convenient and innovative period of history are sickening children and prematurely ending their lives.

As The Telegraph reports, the experts behind the research blame many factors of modern life:

“Among these are obesity, pesticides and solvents inhaled during pregnancy, circadian rhythm disruption through too much bright light at night, radiation from x-rays and CT scans, smoking during and after pregnancy, magnetic fields from power lines, gadgets in homes, and potentially, radiation from mobile phones.” [1]

Read: Obesity Sparks 500,000 Cancer Cases Annually

Philips said he believes that 7 out of 10 cancer cases in children and young people could be due to lifestyle, adding:

“Scientists have found 287 man-made chemicals in an examination of fetus cord blood. They are not all carcinogenic of course, but some are and many have not been tested. Only about five% of cancers are caused by hereditary factors. We must push for this message to be more available at doctors, in schools.”

Henshaw said:

“Many items on the list of environmental causes are now known to be carcinogenic, such as air pollution and pesticides and solvents. There has been good research to suggest a mother’s diet can damage DNA in cord blood. Light at night we know is very disruptive for the body, which is why shift workers have such bad health.

Burnt barbecues, the electric fields of power lines, the electricity supply in your home. Hairdryers. It’s all of these things coming together, and it seems to be teenagers and young people that are most affected.

What’s worrying is it is very hard to avoid a lot of these things. How can you avoid air pollution? It sometimes feels like we are fighting a losing battle.”

How to Turn the Tide

Simple changes such as letting children attend preschool to boost their immune system, not painting children’s rooms with oil-based paints, and avoiding processed meats during pregnancy could have a positive and lasting impact on the number of youngsters who get a devastating diagnosis. [1]

The researchers also recommended that adults avoid shift work, but people don’t always have a choice in the hours they work.

People can also turn to natural cleaners on the market, or create their own.

Read: How to Clean the Whole House with 6 Inexpensive Items and NO Nasty Chemicals

Nicola Smith, Cancer Research U.K.’s senior health information officer, said:

“Evidence has shown that there are lots of things adults can do to reduce cancer risk and it’s always a good idea to set up healthy habits as a family, like eating healthily, being active and enjoying the sun safely.”

Sources:

[1] The Telegraph

[2] Daily Mail

[3] Mirror

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.