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take5.ca
JUNE 2026
Graphic: Ecogreenlove
Night Light Terrors BY PAMELA WALKER We can all imagine that light pollution affects people. Our biological clock – which coordinates our sleepwake cycle, our digestion, our molecular processes, our body temperatures, our hormone releases, and all our circadian rhythms – is controlled by darkness and light. When we disrupt things with shift work or street lights that stream into our bedroom, motion detectors that go on and off, or even nighttime cell phone use, things do not go so well with us. Shortened life expectancy, mental health problems such as schizophrenia, bipolarism and demen-
tia, fatigue, diabetes, heart disease and obesity are some consequences when sleep becomes problematic. And if people have problems with light pollution, how harmful is it on wildlife – tiny birds, bats and insects? You guessed it: it’s catastrophic. Many species of birds and bugs depend on the night sky as a navigation device that guides them to their migra-
tory homes. When they can no longer see the Milky Way (when was the last time you saw it?), they have no way of knowing which way they should go. They end up crashing into buildings, being drawn miles off their path or becoming so exhausted that they just fall out of the sky and die. And that is on us. Everyone has seen a moth circling a porch or patio light. Ever wonder why?