Baghdad:A recent study has revealed a potential link between exposure to light during sleep and changes in heart structure and function, underscoring the importance of maintaining a dark sleep environment.

According to Iraqi News Agency, researchers from Tulane University in the United States conducted an analysis involving over 11,000 participants. These individuals wore wrist-mounted devices for a week to measure their nighttime light exposure prior to undergoing cardiac MRI scans.

The findings indicated that higher levels of nighttime light exposure were associated with changes in the heart muscle, such as increased mass and wall thickness of the left ventricle, and signs of reduced cardiac contractile efficiency.

Additionally, the study linked high levels of nighttime light exposure to an increased risk of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, and cardiovascular-related death.

The researchers suggested that shorter sleep duration might partially account for these associations, while emphasizing that the study is observational and does not establish a direct causal relationship between nighttime light and heart disease.