"Breast tumors are awake during the day, and melatonin puts them to sleep at night" writes David E. Blask, Bassett Research Institute. Using the Nurses' Health Study, researchers found that light at night is a big risk factor in breast cancer. New studies are underway to test whether malignancies can be slowed down by altering a person's light environment or by using melatonin supplements. You can read the whole article here.
What I particularly appreciated was the suggestions Ben Harder (the author of the article in Science News, January 7th, 2006) made for night time. Don't sit in front of the computer's blue light right up to the minute before going to bed. This light disturbs the melatonin "on"switch. And when you get up in the night to go to the bathroom or prowl around the house, leave the lights off (being careful about your safety of course.) Women who sleep more than 9 hours per night report fewer instances of breast cancer. Who has that much time to be in bed?
Night workers really face the challenges. Melatonin inhibits cancer cells from taking up linoleic acid and what do we crave when we're on an all night work assignment? Fatty foods are what we want. The result: shift workers and other all nighters consume large amounts of linoleic acid just when their melatonin production is suppressed and unable to protect them from the polyunsaturated fat!
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In good health, Betsy
http://www.HiHoHealth.com
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