Sleeping with lights off and closed blinds may protect your health: study

Turning off all lights and drawing the curtains before hitting the bed may help protect your health, according to a recent study out of Northwestern University

Researchers found exposure even to moderate ambient light while sleeping, compared to sleeping in a dimly lit room, is harmful to your cardiovascular function during sleep and can increase your insulin resistance the following morning, according to a release about the Northwestern Medicine study. 

"The results from this study demonstrate that just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome," Zee, who is also the chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in the release. The Northwestern Medicine physician also said, "It’s important for people to avoid or minimize the amount of light exposure during sleep."