Posted on 01/08/2026 7:04:06 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Researchers recently carried out a study involving mice, exploring the possibility that the exposure to bright lights also influences eating behavior and body weight.
"Environmental light regulates nonimage-forming functions like feeding, and bright light therapy shows anti-obesity potential, yet its neural basis remains unclear," wrote Wen Li. "We show that bright light treatment effectively reduces food intake and mitigates weight gain in mice through a visual circuit involving the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA)."
Light is known to play a crucial role in various physiological processes, including sleep, the release of hormones and eating patterns. Bright light therapy (BLT), which entails exposure to intense artificial light for 30 minutes or more daily, is already used to treat various mental health disorders, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD), insomnia and depression.
Recent studies have found that BLT could also facilitate weight loss or prevent weight gain. The neural mechanisms via which light could influence eating behaviors and weight, however, have not yet been clearly elucidated.
To investigate these mechanisms, Li, Huang and their colleagues performed an experiment involving adult mice. The mice were divided into two groups, an experimental and a control group.
All the mice were exposed to light for 12 hours per day, while they spent the remaining 12 hours in darkness. During the 12 hours of light, however, the mice in the experimental condition were exposed to light of varying intensities (~0, 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000 lux).
The team observed that if exposed to bright light, mice consumed less food and gained less weight. They were also able to identify a neural circuit that appeared to be responsible for this effect, which involved neurons in two different brain regions.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Somewhat interestingly, light exposure has a lot to do with onset of puberty. In our parents’ time, menarche for girls was around age 13-16, but now it’s usually much earlier.
“I didn’t know they kept the lights on all night. All day and all night.”
Maybe why we gain weight in winter here in Upstate NY........common sense....we’re not out playing...we’re living quietly until winter passes.
That explains what happens to Michiganders in winter.
Interesting. Now do Vitamin D.
I don’t think that is due to light. It has more to do with nutrition.
Guess I need more milk.
BLT is interrupting my BLT appetite.
Tormenting lab animals to learn trivial things.
We show that bright light treatment effectively reduces food intake and mitigates weight gain
:) Red wine has resveratrol too but I don’t think you’ll get the desired heart benefits downing a jug or two a day...
but I was meaning the correlation between sunlight and vitamin D, not necessarily other sources.
Oh, yes. We lack that, too. Seasonal depression is common even if not diagnosed.
Or, it could be something like the seed oils that we consume. Soy has a lot of phyto-estrogen and was not really consumed as food in the U.S. until the early 1960s. Before that its approved use was glue for cardboard fabrication. (Quite step up. Then there is “Canola oil” modified rape seed oil previously used as marine lubricant and paint ingredient.)
Put a brighter light in the refrigerator?
That’s the real issue.
CC
Being housebound is depressing...Here in Upstate...we have 6 months of cold....and in my case (I’m 82) that keeps me tucked away....and it’s kinda depressing when it’s gray most of the time.
It is! That is why I like to keep Christmas decorations up so long. Now that I know there is a Christmas connected holiday on *February 2nd that is when they will come down. The lights make me happy!
*Candlemas🕯🕯🕯🕯
There’s that, too.
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