"It is common where I live when we are approaching the Winter Solstice to bemoan the fact that it is dark all the time.
But what if there was a human need for darkness?
From Andrew Durham's book called Hygienic Darkroom Retreat, "Spiritual traditions have used darkness for millennia...Egyptians and Maya have used it in pyramids; Christians in catacombs; Sufis and Taoistsin caves; Tibetan Buddhists in cells of monasteries. Indigenous traditions do likewise: Amazonian shamanism uses darkness in ayahuasca ceremony. Welsh shamans and Navajo, Maya, and Kogi Indians alike build special dark structures, holding darkness in high regard as essential to self-discovery. Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing tradition, uses extended periods of darkness for rejuvenation. By reports, it is nothing less than the fountain of youth."
These days, true darkness is hard to come by, especially with increasing light pollution from our exterior environments (those crazy bright street lights, porch lights, headlights and flood lights) and in our interior environments as well (smoke and carbon monoxide detector lights, lights on chargers, nightlights, etc).
How does darkness help us?
Melatonin production increases greatly in the pineal gland and gut via a pathway that converts serotonin to melatonin after 4 hours of complete darkness.
Artificial light delays/suppresses this pathway, especially LEDs which can reduce melatonin production up to 80%.
Why is this a big deal?
Melatonin is more than a hormone that helps us fall asleep. It works with other molecules that also need darkness at night for optimum effect.
One such molecule is prolactin, whose release should also happen after 4 hours of darkness.
Prolactin signals growth hormone release (GH). GH decreases body fat, increases lean muscle and optimizes protein synthesis when synced with melatonin.
Melatonin also runs autophagy and apoptosis.
Apoptosis is one of the major ways the body destroys cancer cells. Research consistently links artificial light at night to increased breast and prostate cancers with low melatonin the likely cause.
Darkness is a necessity. Embrace what each season provides!"
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