Light Pollution Can Impact Our Sleep and Our Health. Here’s What To Do

More light has birds singing later into the night. The extra hour could say something about their health, and ours, when it comes to sleeping less.

Published Sep 4, 2025

You may have seen reports late last month about a new study showing how too much light at night is affecting birds — the latest sign of a problem that has implications for us, too.

The study’s findings, published in the Aug. 21 issue of Science, may be best summed up by a Washington Post headline: "These birds won’t stop singing, and it’s our fault."

The researchers found that, in areas most brightly lit by artificial lighting, birds sang for an average of 50 minutes longer than they did elsewhere. This adds nearly an hour of "daytime" to the circadian rhythms that the birds have evolved over millions of years. (Yes, millions: Birds descended directly from dinosaurs.)

And while an extra hour of birdsong might not sound like such a big deal on the surface, it’s just a musical piece of a puzzling problem that can have health consequences for wildlife — and for people.

How does light pollution affect human health?

The scientists behind the study are careful to hedge their conclusions: "Prolonged activity may confer negative, neutral, or positive fitness effects" for birds, they write, nodding to the possibility that light pollution may somehow also help birds.

But we already know a lot about light pollution’s less helpful impacts. Artificial lights can confuse animals about their habitat boundaries and disrupt reproduction. Birds are especially known to fly directly into lighted buildings, hurting or killing themselves.

Light pollution can also have bad effects on humans, even though we’re the ones who created it. Exposure to artificial light lengthens our own "daytime" hours, which can cut into the amount and quality of sleep we get each night. Even if you put your phone away well before bedtime, an artificially lit environment can decrease the natural production of melatonin, a hormone involved in the sleep cycle.

Because sleep is so important to the human immune system, low-quality sleep or too little sleep at all, can increase your risk of disease. In fact, scientists are currently studying whether light pollution and its impact on our sleep can increase the risk of cancer.

Experts say more work needs to be done to understand the impact of light pollution on human health, but some theories suggest a link between light pollution and chronic health issues like obesity, or the neurodegeneration from Alzheimer’s disease.

Caring for your health in a well-lit world

If you chronically struggle with sleep (as do an estimated 12% of Americans, according to a 2024 survey commissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine), chances are you already know many of the classic insomnia tips. Still, they’re worth reviewing here:

Avoid artificial light (especially screens) an hour before bedtime. You can also designate your bedroom as a screen-free zone, keeping your phone outside of the room at all times.
Transform your bedroom into a calming sleep cave. If you live in a brightly lit, noisy city, blackout curtains, ear plugs, fans and white noise machines can help you keep the wider world out of your dreams. A cool bedroom, at between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, can also prime your body for snoozing.
Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Yes, even on weekends, our bodies prefer routine.
Avoid large meals, alcohol and caffeine in the hours before bedtime. All can affect your ability to fall asleep, as well as your sleep quality.
Reduce stress if possible. According to one ValuePenguin survey, 54% of Americans say stress cuts into their sleep.

If you’ve tried all the tricks and still regularly struggle to fall or stay asleep, it may be worth asking your health care provider for their help. After all, as we’ve established: Sleep is really important.

Many types of sleep studies are covered by health insurance, and these can help your doctors understand all the factors impacting the quality of your sleep.

If you do discover you have ongoing health care needs related to insomnia or other sleep disorders, choosing the best health insurance plan can help. While shopping for health insurance, you can search specifically for any medications, treatments or procedures you know you might need, helping you save money in the long run.

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