Could sunsets be nature's great elixir's for more restful sleeps and relaxation????
Light plays a crucial role in your sleep rhythms.....why? because it serves as a major synchroniser of your Master Clock. The Master Clock is a very real structure in the from of a group of cells in your brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). This bio-clock was designed for the relatively smooth transition of light and dark from the rising and setting sun.
Only in the past 100 years or so have we had to deal with strong artificial lights, now including HD TV's and all manner of electronic devices. This creates a big challenge for you Master Clock with very real physiological effects flowing onto alterations in moods and behaviour.
Melatonin, the master regulator hormone for sleep in our bodies can be dramatically effected by artificial light. Since 1960 most of the developed world is sleeping 20% less. Sleep shortage is like the frog getting slowly boiled, there is no alert mechanism, it just feels like normal. yet reaction times, cognition, moods and health can be severely affected.
Shift workers have a 4-5 fold higher rate of cancer than the average population. It pays to keep lights dim avoid high intensity electronic displays (like tablets, TV screens) and use lower wavelength lighting in the red and amber end of the spectrum. This is probably why a good sunset is so therapeutic, the soft low wavelengths are perhaps natures tranquiliser to prepare our bodies for sleep. So turn OFF your wildly bright electronic device NOW..........and immerse yourself in some soft light with fantasies of magical sunsets!