Breast cancer risk for late risers
A large-scale study, conducted recently, found that women who function better in the morning may be less likely to develop breast cancer. Researchers used a method called Mendelian randomisation to study gene variants that affect sleep traits; they focused on genes that have an association with certain sleep factors, such as a preference for morning or evening, sleep duration, and insomnia. Data analysis showed that women who preferred mornings, nicknamed larks, had a 40 percent lower breast cancer risk than those who preferred the night, known as owls. The results also showed that women who slept for longer than the recommended 7 to 8 hours per night had a higher risk, which increased by 20 percent for every extra hour that they slept.
Blue light reduces blood pressure
According to a study, exposure to blue light causes a significant reduction in blood pressure, which is the leading cause of stroke,and a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A randomised study that exposed volunteers to visible blue light for 30 minutes on one day, followed by 30 minutes of exposure to a control light on a subsequent day, found that while exposure to the control light had no effect, the blue light sessions resulted in a systolic blood pressure reduction of almost 8 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). It is believed that the blue light exposure triggered are lease of nitric oxide from the skin, allowing it to enter the bloodstream.There it proceeded to relax the blood vessels and increase blood flow, resulting in a decrease in blood pressure.
