Effects of artificial light exposure at night on children’s cognitive development and performance

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Children are heavily exposed to artificial light at night and this has consequences for their development. This study aims to obtain maps of artificial nightlight intensity, colour spectrum and melatonin suppression from photos of UK cities taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) in order to measure the impact of light pollution on the performance of different brain functions, such as language, memory, executive function, spatial awareness and problem solving in children. Dr. Juana María Delgado-Saborit develops this project from ISGlobal.

Links:

A Community-Based Study of Sleep and Cognitive Development in Infants and Toddlers
Timing of light exposure affects mood and brain circuits
Exposure to dim light at night during early development increases adult anxiety-like responses
How light affects our brain’s performance: Photic memory for executive brain responses
Effects of artificial light at night on human health: A literature review of observational and experimental studies applied to exposure assessment