Research

Adherence

Exposure to dim light at night (≥5 lux) increases body mass and impairs glucose tolerance in nocturnal rodents by shifting the timing of food intake to the inactive light phase, despite total caloric intake remaining unchanged.

If you are exposed to light at night (e.g., bedroom lights, screens), try to avoid eating during those hours. Even if you don't eat more total food, eating at the 'wrong' time (when you should be sleeping) can lead to weight gain and poorer blood sugar control. Align your eating window with your active, light-exposed hours.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Mice exposed to light at night had elevated body mass beginning 1 wk after placement in experimental light conditions... Mice in the DM group consumed 55.5% of their food during the light phase, as compared with 36.5% by mice in the LD group... Restricting food consumption to the active phase in DM mice prevents body mass gain.
Laura K. Fonken et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2010

Why this rating

Controlled animal study with clear mechanistic isolation (timed feeding experiment), but results are in mice, not humans.

Source

Light at night increases body mass by shifting the time of food intake

Laura K. Fonken et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2010

mechanism_only · n=80Cited 784×
Read the paper

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →