Can sleeping under a bright light effect my sleep?

I have this bright light that hangs over my bed to help me read at night. Sometimes I fall asleep reading and the light is left on. I wake up to find myself staring into the light. Is that unhealthy for me?
Answer:
Yes, it potentially could be. Everyone runs by their own circadian clock. Our bodies operate better when we sleep in total darkness. For thousands of years, humans have been awake during the daylight hours and sleep during the dark hours. That's just what our bodies expect and disturbing that cycle could make your body confused. This could cause sleep disturbances, insomnia, sleep apnea, anxiety and a host of other medical problems. There's even been studies about using nightlights for children and the negative effects it has on them.

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its okay, but everyone sleeps better if light is off. except if they are affraid of darkness, like me.

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Bright light can definitely affect your sleep. Your body knows if there is light coming in to your eyes, even if it's filtered a little by your eyelids. I live in Washington state, and while people think of it as cloudy and rainy around here, we also get only about 8 hours of dark during the longest days of the summer. Just as with the long nights in the winter, the very SHORT ones in the summer upset circadian rhythms. I suggest putting your reading lamp on a timer, so that it will shut off by a certain time. A simple mechanical timer is only about $10 at someplace like Target, and will help you sleep a LOT better :-)

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I was a sleep researcher studying melatonin for 7 years.YES, it is unhealthy!! Bright light at night inhibits melatonin, a natural hormone that you secrete at night that helps you sleep and also keeps your circadian rhythms (24hour sleep/wake cycle) in harmony. During the daytime, bright light helps set your circadian rhythm but at night time you should stay in low or moderate lights so that melatonin is not inhibited. The bright light exposure will upset this homeostasis and can cause sleeping problems, attention problems and disrupt other mental capacities.

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