Research
Hormonal
Exposure to ecologically relevant dim light (5 lux) at night increases body mass and white adipose tissue in mice, independent of total caloric intake.
If you sleep with lights on, even dim ones, your body may gain weight even if you eat the same amount. Try to keep your sleeping environment as dark as possible to support healthy metabolism.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
mice chronically exposed to dimly illuminated, as opposed to dark, nights elevate body mass independently of changes in total daily activity or caloric intake
Why this rating
Controlled animal study with clear statistical significance, but results are specific to mice and may not directly translate to humans without further validation.
Source
Dim Light at Night Disrupts Molecular Circadian Rhythms and Increases Body Weight
Laura K. Fonken et al. · Journal of Biological Rhythms · 2013
DOI 10.1177/0748730413493862
mechanism_only · n=120Cited 306×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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