Natural Night

Succeed and Soar‘s Thrive! shares insights that can improve life’s quality. This post presents ways star-filled skies help both personal and the planet’s health.

Goal:  Limit light/photo pollution. It’s the excess, artificial light in urban and industrial areas. Main forms are:

1. Glare: Light that causes discomfort.
2. Trespass: Light that enters unwanted places [like from bathroom into bedroom].
3. Clutter:  Too many lights in one place.

Dark Sky reported that migratory birds rely on natural light to guide them. Artificial light can cause collisions and misdirection.  Not only are the patterns of nocturnal animals like owls, badgers and frogs affected. Studies show that artificial lights confuses internal human clocks. Worse, fake light has been connected to lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers.

Of Blue Light, Harvard Medical School   wrote,

Not all colors of light have the same effect. Blue wavelengths—which are beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood—seem to be the most disruptive at night. And the proliferation of electronics with screens, as well as energy-efficient lighting, is increasing our exposure to blue wavelengths, especially after sundown.

Here are protections from blue light at night:

• Use dim red lights for night lights. Red light is less likely to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin.
• Avoid looking at bright screens two to three hours before bed.
• More

Paul Bogart is a great, dark-sky resource. His books include,

• Where Are All the Wild Things, Daddy?
• Let There Be Dark
• Night Vision
• More

Here’ are 60 Dark Sky Places for Great Star Gazing.[Gorgeous photos]

The article Light Pollution, Health Risks & Facts has a great bibliography.

The Museum of Natural History’s temporary exhibition “Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky” stated that star stories connect us through time and across cultures.

Here are several more reflection,