Scrolling through phone at night? You are at 56% higher risk for heart failure; here's how

Reaching for the phone and scrolling through social media is an everyday activity for many when they wake up in the middle of the night. However, did you know that this seemingly harmless activity, alongside other general exposures to bright light at night, increases the risk of heart failure by 56%? According to researchers at Australia's Flinders University, who studied more than 13 million hours of light exposure data from 89,000 people in the UK, there is a significant cardiovascular disease risk among those aged 40 and above when exposed to bright light at night. Its lead author, Daniel Windred, said that this is the first large-scale study to prove it. 

Women and younger people are vulnerable
According to the study, youngsters and women are particularly vulnerable to exposure to bright light at night. "In fact, women exposed to high levels of night light had similar heart failure risks to men, which is unusual because women typically have some natural protection against heart disease," said Sean Cain, professor at Flinders University's College of Medicine and Public Health. The researchers say that exposing our bodies to bright light while it is dark otherwise increases the chances of other dangerous heart issues as well. 

How to decrease the risk
Here are a few suggestions by the researchers to lower the risk of bright light exposure:
1) Avoid screens before bed
2) Dim lights
3) Use blackout curtains
(With PTI inputs)