I love the dark. I love it because it allows you to abstract yourself from the hustle and bustle. She leaves you alone with yourself, with your thoughts. Darkness and silence. First half of the night. Calm and quiet, it attracts you. Makes you pay attention to little things.
You pour cold coffee into your favorite mug, go out onto the cozy balcony, listen to the quiet rustling of the rain. Occasionally your attention switches from one object to another. A dog sniffing a backpack forgotten by someone in the middle of the street. A pedestrian walking slowly without an umbrella in this weather. But this is not the faceless pedestrian you meet during the day. He's alone here. That's why you pay attention to him. He has his own story, which is unknown to you, and you are unlikely to see him again. But you're looking. Slim silhouette. Easy leisurely walk. This man is in no hurry. Walking. You notice a barely noticeable smile on his face, but this is the only thing you have time to see, because he hides in the darkness, only occasionally showing himself, walking through the light spots of lanterns. The shapeless gray coat was wet from the rain. “Fool,” you will think, and perhaps you will be right. Well, what normal person would rejoice in the fact that he is walking in the rain along a not very, but, to be fair, picturesque street? For a moment you are filled with anger. The stranger will slowly disappear from your field of vision, leaving you alone again. Only the quiet rustling of rain.
You peer into the endless black sky. Gradually the outbreak of anger fades away. You wonder what caused this momentary anger in you. It's clearly about this lucky passerby. You light a cigarette, but immediately put it out. You take a sip of coffee. Only this stranger is in my head. You close the balcony door tightly, leave the almost full mug on the table, and quickly walk into the bedroom. Three minutes later you are already dressed and go outside. The umbrella was deliberately left at the door. You breathe in full lungs of cool, fresh air mixed with the aroma of flowers blooming in a flower bed. You go wherever your eyes take you. In a few minutes you find yourself on the embankment. Deserted. Quiet. Dark. You close your eyes and throw your head back to the sky. You feel how the wind hugs you, how the rain caresses your hair. Smile. Pure, sincere. My chest is filled with joy. The thought in my head is that something important has happened. But what?
You are enjoying the moment.
And you do it for a long time.
Opposite you stands a pedestrian in a gray, shapeless, wet coat. Her beautiful brown eyes look at you in surprise.
Every rainy summer night throughout her life in this city, she came here to enjoy her solitude. She saw this stranger for the first time. He just stood there with his head thrown back to the sky, and there was a smile on his face. She understood perfectly well how this man felt. She feels it herself. The stranger did not pay attention to her, and perhaps was not aware of her presence. Straightening her long dark hair, she followed his example and turned her gaze to the sky. Slowly she closed her eyes. Rain dripped onto her face. The wind blew her coat. She felt free. But besides this, a strange feeling arose in my chest, which made my smile even wider. “I love the dark,” flashed through her head.
Everyone knows that darkness is the friend of youth, but this is not entirely true, darkness is the friend of all humanity. The process of changing day and night was created for a reason, but with the aim of maintaining our health in a normal rhythm. But why does short daylight in winter lead every 20th person to depression, stress and poor health? Why does the dark morning that we meet when getting ready for work leave a negative imprint on the whole day? That’s the way we are built, and maybe after reading this article, we will begin to relate to darkness differently, because behind all the negative factors lies the real source of health.
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Photo gallery: The influence of darkness on human health
Scientists say that darkness has a positive effect on beauty. Lighting from electric bulbs and appliances has a negative impact on our skin, accelerating the aging process of cells, which is why it is so important to be exposed to natural light more often during the day and in complete darkness at night. And if you are of a romantic nature, then arrange dinner by candlelight more often: healthy, beautiful and imbued with passion.
So what are the benefits of darkness?
1. Reducing the risk of developing cancer
It has been proven more than once that the intensity of lighting at night is directly related to the development of cancer. I’ll explain why this is so now. At night, our body is actively engaged not only in sleep, but also in the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a substance produced by the body at night for the purpose of natural protection against cancer, otherwise known as “darkness hormones”. The presence of light at night interferes with its production and, accordingly, reduces the body’s natural defense against this malignant disease. The action of melatonin is aimed at suppressing the growth of certain cancer cells, stimulating the development of white blood cells and strengthening the immune system. The effectiveness of this antioxidant is significantly increased when combined with anticancer drugs.
2. Reducing the likelihood of developing and worsening depressive conditions
Not only can the lack of daylight contribute to the development of depression, but also the lack of darkness. Man, like all living beings on earth, needs time to rest and fill himself with energy. Sleep helps us with this, but not just sleep, but sleep in complete darkness. The absence of natural cycles of day and night does not provide a person with adequate energy nutrition, which in turn gives rise to the development of a stressful state of the body - depression.
Some people like to sleep with the TV on, but this technique is even more dangerous, since flickering bursts of light and sounds are the most powerful aggressors of the subconscious, indirectly reflected on the conscious mind. This habit is contraindicated for humans, especially children.
3. Improved sleep quality
Sound and healthy sleep can only be in the dark. Various light sources worsen the quality of sleep and prevent a person from going deeper into it. People who sleep with appliances on take longer to fully recover their energy than those who sleep in complete darkness.
When a person finds himself in the dark, his body instantly adjusts to it and sleep comes much faster. As a result, the quality of sleep increases, stress vulnerability decreases, strength is restored faster, cells are intensively renewed, and the flow of energy to every point of the body increases.
4. Promotes weight loss
When a person finds himself in the dark, the body automatically turns off the “hunger” function and sets the mood to rest. In this way, nature protected us from overeating and gave the body the opportunity to rest from food without storing extra pounds in unwanted areas of our body. Scientists have proven that people sleeping in the light experience a feeling of hunger and the need to satisfy it. Systematic consumption of food at night does not benefit weight loss, but only leads to obesity, because the body is overloaded with food.
5. Supports the functioning of the biological clock
The natural cycle of day and night forms and maintains the biological clock of each of us. The modern world is filled with many interesting places to spend time that disrupt the natural rhythm: nightclubs, sitting at the computer until the early morning, watching TV, visiting 24-hour stores. We live and enjoy such a life, not suspecting that we are introducing a clear violation of natural rhythms.
Scientists have proven a direct connection between the failure of the biological clock and human well-being. The result can be stress, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system and many other diseases. To avoid undesirable consequences, experts advise shortening your day, going to bed at the same time, and curbing activity after dark. These recommendations do not mean that you need to completely give up nightlife, just try to minimize this lifestyle.
We've looked at the main benefits of darkness and it's up to you to decide whether to follow them or not. In any case, it is worth paying attention to them, because this is our health and we have only one. Of course, many cannot afford to change their lifestyle due to circumstances related to family or work, but diligently maintaining the natural rhythm of darkness and light, at least during vacation, will have a positive effect on health.
I don’t even know why... perhaps because I feel some kind of kinship with her. Perhaps because she is lonely - like me, and she herself stands guard over her loneliness. Or maybe because she knows how to be as affectionate as fog, and as if feeling kinship with me, she hugs me... Fog is a different story. I would call it white darkness, but that's not what we're talking about right now. After all, now I am sitting in real, primordial darkness, and for me it is a place.
I don't remember where I am, how I got here, and damn, it doesn't matter... I think I've found my paradise. Your own little ephemeral paradise-apartment, from which something, sooner or later, will drag you out onto the fucking noisy street, throwing the growls of cars, the lamentations of people and all the dirt of this hectic life in your face. But today I am home, even if I don’t know where this home is.
She knows how to be feminine. A light whisper of the breeze outside the window, which is somewhere nearby, but I don’t see it; she whispers something very personal, intimate, intimate, this is no longer just a language - the phrases are confused in the breaths and divinely fresh aspirations, this is probably what a primordial thought and feeling looks like. A chill that runs so carefully—sneaking—on your back, trying with all your might not to cause a shudder and hostility. And even because she lives in the dark. She is the light from which you squint, you are driven out of habit, but when you open your eyes completely, you understand that you will never want to close them again in your life, as if without this light you will die. Well, maybe that's true? Maybe I really am dead? I don’t care, because she’s no longer with me...
"Slap!" - hit the roof. Again. More. The sound of hopelessness, the collapse of small destinies on stubborn cold metal. A moment later, trillions of the same “splashes” fell to the ground in one fell swoop—apparently, this whole little world was no longer needed in the sky. The ancient record player turned on and began to wheeze a requiem, cleared its throat, and began to sing in a new way. And it was wonderful... the voice of the old piano, the tearful regret of the violin and drops falling everywhere, as if it was not a record player at all, but the rain itself was singing its last song. A song about death has its own unique charm.
Drops began to penetrate inside. I don’t know how... It doesn’t matter. The main thing is that they did not interfere with the darkness. They flash right before my eyes, and I see them, as if a light coming from somewhere was casting its thoughtful gaze on them. But... no, they seem to glow from within, like little pieces of the moon... and that makes it even more unfortunate that they break.
like I once did
The thoughts in my head began to spin faster, expelling the remnants of sleep. I reluctantly opened my eyes, gradually recognizing everything around me. Slowly he sat down on the bed, turning his back to the lit lamp. A large bed... a lamp, greedily taking away the narrow area next to me from the darkness... a broken frame on a dirty (to be honest) floor with an aging, but, it seems, still living photo, from which two faces look up at me... and rain, this endless rain outside the window... as if every drop of it, freezing, crashes like a bullet into my heart...
I'm alone on a bed meant for two, the cold seeps in with the rain through the open window, and I'm lonely. What to do? Continue sleeping? Get drunk as usual? There is probably something stored in the refrigerator for this occasion. But instead my hands reach for the photo frame. I pick it up and peer, although I don’t need to peer at all - this image does not leave my head... no, I think it would be more accurate to say - from me, and I am saturated with it. I gently stroked her hair in the photo, and she looked at me like before... That look never lets me go. Having completely lost control of myself, giving in to some inner urge, I took a marker and wrote in the corner across the crack:
“I’m going crazy again... for you”
Why? For what?
Yes, because it is. Everything, ALL my thoughts since then, in one way or another, are about her. Because in everything - in a girl passing by, in the rain, in the fog - even in the dark - I see her. I want to feel it, but I can’t, and I’m constantly trying to deceive myself with this. She was once my light, but now... now she is my night, my dusk, my darkness... I am blinding myself. After all, I simply don’t want to see anything else - but the world is full of new things. The night will end with dawn, the rain will fill the lake, spread as fog along the morning streets and, in the end, ascend back to its native sky, which will again be glad to receive it; it’s as if it’s constantly playing out the parable of the prodigal son, giving everyone the opportunity to see it... And the darkness will end when I open my eyes...
Goodbye... I still love you, but I'm letting you go. Love can kill the soul by leaving... but having been to the darkness, my soul is ready to rise again and rush towards the light. All you need to do is open your eyes...
Thousands and thousands of dust particles danced in an endless circle in two rays of sunlight rushing into my room, passing the window. I come up to him and see how light blind rain, turning into thin fingers of steam, enlivens the empty street of a small town... I miss colors so much, and it’s like – no, for sure – he knows it! I climb out straight through the window, go to the road, and stop. I direct my gaze to the sky. I stand for who knows how long until I notice someone’s gaze on my back, I turn around and see her eyes... these are my two new suns - or two moons leading through the night - or... no, I can’t describe them, it’s probably the original, true light, united in two incomparable eyes on her face. I'm chained, I don't know what to say. But the phrase itself comes to mind.
- Do you like the dark?
- What? No, not anymore... - she answers almost without thinking. Of the earthly things in her, perhaps, there is only chewing gum in her mouth, but nothing can detract from her heavenlyness in my eyes.
- She simply cannot be next to you... And yet, how can I describe your eyes? Can you help? Although I know that this is impossible, something must always remain beyond words, right?
I hate the light... I must be a vampire. I like to close the blinds even during the day and sit in the dark. Sometimes I’m scared, sometimes it seems that someone is touching me, that there is someone nearby, but this is also pleasure. You can talk to G-d, you can just smoke and look at the stars, or listen to music, you can wrap your arms around your knees and just sway from side to side like crazy.
30/05/02, Eretic
In general, I have terrible photophobia. You open your eyes and you can’t see anything - you either have to blink often or narrow your eyes. But darkness is not the same. In the dark you can withdraw into yourself, indulge in reflection. In the dark, a person bares his soul to himself, because he feels alienation from people and is not afraid of a blow from them. Therefore, in my room the curtains are always drawn, and the night is my favorite time of day. And also - at night and in the dark a person is alone, but not alone, because he acutely feels his inextricable connection with the surrounding world, precisely with the world, and not with a human anthill, as in the world.
21/06/02, Fi - 103 "Reichenberg" IV
I love this... I love, without turning on the light, without responding to the phone (even if the answering machine does that), just lying in the dark and thinking. What interesting things come to mind sometimes is impossible to describe. It's just beautiful... I love the darkness - it's warm, it warms. When you are alone in the light, you feel loneliness, and when you are alone in the dark, you feel as if she is surrounding you, taking care of you. It seems that I can touch her, talk to her... but alas... She is close to me...
13/07/02, Tired of_everything
Wow, I thought I was the only one so strange: I don’t like light, I don’t like the sun, although it seems like my front fangs aren’t that long...:).Darkness is something that is close to me, so I often sit until late (then eat until morning) at night, and sleep during the day...
11/12/02, frost
I feel myself in it like a fish in water. So good, and not hard on the eyes. As if this is a natural state. How, I wonder, can you love the white nights that are in St. Petersburg? All the charm of the night, which lies precisely in this kingdom - the kingdom of darkness, is lost...
13/12/02, Kasly
I love. especially the darkness of the evening. I like to turn off the lights in the entire apartment. and sit. look at the stars - okay, okay, I was daydreaming. I don’t look at the stars... but I would like to.
26/12/02, DeadManiac
Darkness is a friend of youth... No, not in that sense... But in the fact that only in the dark you can really relax, think about life, remember the past, analyze the present, imagine the future... Turn off the lights, turn on some good music quietly ( pop and rap are inappropriate, but classical and rock music are great) and enjoy the darkness... By the way, for what you initially thought of, darkness is poorly suited.
18/01/03, Charley Monroe
For me, this is a more natural element than light... Darkness, unlike light, is unobtrusive and soft, as if everything is wrapped in it, as if in some kind of gentle, enveloping, pleasant ghostly substance, no bright colors or striking outlines... She conducive to reflection, inspiration, sometimes even to an enthusiastic, elevated state of mind, inspiration... Even if it’s not absolute darkness, twilight, twilight... I like to fall asleep when it’s still dark, and wake up when it’s already dark... So dark time the day is completely at my disposal... As if the darkness lasts forever...
19/01/03, Virgo
For some reason, when it hurts - both physically and mentally - it is easier to bear in the dark. When I want to relax, I turn off the light. When I want to concentrate and collect my thoughts, I also often resort to the same technique. This is probably a reaction caused by the baby being in the warm, dark womb. When faced with trouble, you instinctively want to return to safety. Another aspect is mystery, danger emanating from the darkness. He is close to me too. Darkness opens its wings and calls with it...
08/01/04, NeverBorn
Darkness is a friend of youth) everyone knows this%) even if not everyone, let it finally reach them) darkness is usually night) and at night no one bothers) it’s nice to spend time at night in the dark with some cool, sexy guy :) mmm..+)
08/01/04, ZanozA
Darkness is the friend of youth. You can’t see faces in the dark :) In fact, doing everything in the dark is much easier. And more pleasant. Well....you know what I mean....
04/02/04, Der Engel
Darkness and silence are conducive to reflection, help you relax and think. Night is the coolest time of day. There are not as many such vile faces on the street as during the day.
27/06/04, nobody
I love it when the house is dark and I'm alone. In general, I love dark rooms, houses, streets, etc. This is how you walk down the street in the evening, it’s dark, quiet, no one there.... Cool
28/10/04, nobody
I feel more comfortable in the dark, especially when there are a lot of problems, a heated environment and other difficulties. It helps, of course. In general, a lot can be said about those who love the dark. These are mainly complex, quiet people or those who are tired of the “eternal day”, i.e. looking for peace, quiet, etc.
24/01/05, Natusik from work
I came to a very interesting conclusion that darkness helps restore vision. Probably due to the fact that the eyes strain less and the cornea does not experience light pressure from the outside. Among other things, darkness greatly helps to relax the eye muscles. And in general, I see better in the dark without glasses than in the light
24/09/05, Terminatrix
About three years ago I literally had a passion for the dark, for dark deserted (guaranteed deserted, where _nobody_ shy away!) places, especially if it was October and if the sky was starry. Now I also love the dark. And I will always love you, because you dream better in the dark. P.S.: I really, really don’t like being considered a goth because of my love of darkness.
25/10/06, Recluse
I love smoking ganjubas in the dark with two or three friends... I get really excited when a joint is passed from hand to hand, the cigarette butt faintly and mysteriously illuminates our stoned faces...
21/02/07, Darksoul
Nobody will be able to notice me. Approach from the back and press a knife to your throat, and then enjoy how the body trembles in the darkness, under you, suck out all your strength and let go, while hiding in the darkness and repeating again into the night. So don't walk around the cemetery late, my darkness will suck everything it can.
16/07/07, 3 Sofia 3
Even if you gouge out your eyes, all night long. Glasha, who has taken on the role of my guardian, is going crazy, drinking Validol and wandering from corner to corner. But I won’t call, a quarrel is a quarrel, even with the very, very dear ones, like Glafira! In addition, I have a flashlight in my left pocket - and the yellow-white speck is always ready to gallop briskly along the black-black asphalt, like in a horror story. And in the left there is a gas canister - pepper, odorous and disgusting. It doesn’t “sneeze” for me, if anything. And I myself love the dark. And now there is one single street lamp far behind, and only the light from the windows of the houses, almost completely hidden by high fences, provides scant illumination. But I have a lot of time, and this darkness needs to be spent usefully! And keep in mind, even though I am faced with dilemmas every now and then, I am not ready to admit a fiasco! And the darkness... well, I love it. And the cover of the night now saves, shelters. I’m in his captivity, on his territory, which means I don’t dare disobey. Being a hostage... But I can’t help but love!
09/08/08, Fraulein Anastasia
I also really love the darkness... nothing new can be said, everything has already been said here. Only at night I can talk about serious topics, but during the day... no... I hate the sun...
04/09/08, LimONka
I just love the dark! Sometimes my eyes even hurt from the light... you can sit alone in the dark (knowing that you are not alone after all). Think, dream and completely immerse yourself in your thoughts... otherwise it’s very difficult to do this during the day - everything is constant distract...I always sit during the day with the windows and even doors closed))) I don’t know, but the darkness is something beautiful, mysterious, and it seems to be calling me! Sometimes at night, if I don’t want to sleep, I sit on the windowsill and look at the stars. Maybe people think I’m some kind of crazy, but I just like it... I wonder what this disease is called =)
30/10/08, Vander
Darkness - it beckons...It gives peace and strength. She is mysterious and mystical... she is close to me. In it you will find something that is not there in the light... a feeling of strength and confidence, and the fear of not being famous - all this is combined only in the dark.
06/07/09, dominika
I love it when evening comes and it gets dark outside. It's beautiful all around. When it’s daytime, I may not notice all the beauty, because it appears at night. It is amazing.
17/07/09,
I love it very much, I love being in it, feeling it around me, just looking around when it’s dark. What to look for? So on her, on her - on the darkness. It's incredibly nice. By the way, I was once in the restaurant “In the Dark”, I really liked it.
16/01/11, Nocturna89
It is more common to be in the dark than in bright light. In the evening I hate turning on the overhead lights - it’s better to use a reading lamp or candles to create a romantic atmosphere. Well, at night in complete darkness listening to music is absolutely amazing! The impressions from her are even more intense!
30/03/12, Caramel with Vanilla
I’m ashamed to admit, but somewhere before the age of 20 I was panicky, simply hysterically afraid of the dark. I physically couldn't stay in a dark room. The consequence of a huge number of Pendos horror films about zombies, watched in childhood. but now I’m not afraid of it, I love the dark. It calms, envelops, in the dark you somehow think more rationally and without unnecessary emotions, and if you turn on your favorite quiet music, you generally experience an incredible buzz. Darkness gives you the opportunity to be alone with your Self and talk to it about what is important and what you need. Darkness is the element of sleep, calmness and, sometimes, cleansing tears. And in our always noisy metropolis, sometimes this inner peace and quiet is so lacking.
It is 17.00, the sun is rapidly setting behind the horizon, and Moscow is covered in darkness. Muscovites will see the next ray of sunlight only in 14 hours. Many children hide from the darkness under the covers in fear or spend the whole night with the lamp on. Our ancestors believed that it was at this time that we become targets for evil spirits and demons. In the 21st century, science has proven that there is no need to be afraid of the dark.
However, scientists have also discovered something else: most of us don’t even realize how much the time from dusk to dawn affects us. Is darkness really that dark? Can constant living in the light lead to cancer? What actually causes fear of the dark and how to deal with it?
In ancient times, people believed that darkness was full of mysteries and secrets. Have they all been solved in the 21st century? What happens to us at a time when we see nothing? For modern scientists, everything is clear about darkness: it is simply the absence of light. Moreover, darkness is a completely subjective human sensation. The fact is that our eye perceives electromagnetic radiation in a fairly narrow range. Therefore, a room filled with infrared or ultraviolet light will seem completely dark to us, although the instruments will show that there is enough light there. Also, in order for us to see something, there must be an object reflecting light nearby.
The retina of our eyes contains light receptor cells - cones and rods. They are the ones who react to the flow of photons and transmit the signal to the back of the brain, where the image is formed. Cones are responsible for daytime vision and color recognition. Rods are responsible for night vision: they are able to capture weaker light, but the picture quality is not the best.
“Surely you all know the saying: at night all cats are gray. This is due precisely to the fact that we lack color vision, our cones are not excited, we have a low level of illumination, so we see exactly like this: everything is black, gray,” says ophthalmologist Anna Zhemchugova.
Our eye is a unique instrument, the sensitivity of which scientists have not yet created equal to. In the visible range, it can distinguish absolutely any light.
“It is believed that the human eye is capable of registering one photon. Even if there is one photon in the entire room, after some time it will hit the human eye. Of course, it will be absorbed and there will be no more photons left in the room, but if there is even a small number of photons in the room, a person will distinguish something,” notes Associate Professor of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Nikolay Brandt.
Under normal conditions, the human eye adapts to darkness in 30-40 minutes. At this time, complex chemical processes occur in the retinal rods. The fact is that in light, the photosensitive pigment rhodopsin breaks down into its components. In the dark, it is synthesized again, and light sensitivity increases tens of thousands of times. With a lack of rhodopsin, night blindness occurs - a disease in which vision deteriorates not only in the dark, but even during light twilight.
“This disease can affect children and adults. In children it is extremely difficult. In adults it has a milder form, but, as a rule, treatment does not have much effect. And a lot of accidents happen with the participation of such people,” says ophthalmologist Anna Zhemchugova.
It is no coincidence that this blindness is called chicken blindness. Chickens really can't see anything in the dark. The rods responsible for night vision are practically absent in their eyes.
It is believed that the average domestic cat can see about seven times further than a human in the dark. Nocturnal predators have significantly fewer cones in their eyes than rods, so they see rather poorly during the day. Another thing is at night. The image, although black and white, is very clear. In addition, in the eyes of cats, behind the retina there is a special membrane - tapetum, which reflects light, acting as a kind of mirror. It is because of this that it seems to us that a cat’s eyes glow in the dark.
“The light that for some reason did not reach the retina, the rods, is reflected and re-perceived by the retina. All this leads to higher sensitivity to light in cats. More precisely, to the perception of light,” notes veterinarian Vyacheslav Porada.
The eyes of nocturnal animals are able to adapt to darkness in just a few seconds. In the 40s, Soviet scientists found that people can also learn to see in the dark and very quickly. The mechanisms of human adaptation to darkness were until recently secret military research.
“Two famous psychologists Krikor Kekcheev and Alexey Nikolaevich Leontyev invented a tablet called VR-10 - autonomic reflex, 10 grams. It consisted of half glucose and half ascorbic acid. So, the use of this pill by our pilots, who, for example, took off in the dark on alarm, reduced the time of dark adaptation by 700 percent. That is, seven times,” says Alexander Karayani, head of the psychology department at the Military University of the Russian Defense Ministry.
How does the absence of light affect other senses? And what happens under the cover of darkness to our psyche?
The influence of darkness on a person is not limited to physiological reactions. We are dependent on it at the biochemical level. Each of us has a biological clock. This function is performed by a small area of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It is this part of the brain that gives commands - to stay awake when the sun is shining and to sleep when it is dark. It is very difficult to deceive this mechanism. Most of us, no matter how well we sleep, cannot fully work when it is dark outside.
At this time, the brain works at half capacity, many processes in the body are slowed down. Scientists from the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences studied the health status of drivers of ground public transport. It turned out that drivers working in the dark get into accidents more often than their colleagues from day shifts, despite the fact that they slept for 10 hours before starting work.
“For three to five seconds the brain turns off. Individual areas of the brain fall asleep - the so-called local sleep, or microsleep. And if he drives in a straight line, then he drives automatically. And if there is a sharp turn, then it ends with who knows what,” says Vladimir Dorokhov, head of the laboratory at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Constant night work in most cases leads to a failure of the biological clock, which in turn seriously interferes with the work of a night owl.
“My assistant at one time worked part-time on night shifts on the telephone. She worked there for a year and had severe bouts of hypertension. I am an elderly person, and I don’t have them like she did; in a young healthy woman, my blood pressure jumped to 200-210. She was forced to quit work - and indeed, the pressure stabilized. But nevertheless, after this she began to have episodic crises, which she had never had before. That is, it did not pass without a trace,” says Vladimir Kovalzon, chairman of the Russian Society of Somnologists.
Most changes in the body often become noticeable only after 10-15 years. And the consequences can be the most severe. People who sleep with light on and work at night are more likely to get cancer.
“Nurses who work shift work for many years, nurses often work shifts in hospitals, have an increased risk of breast cancer by 40 to 60 percent. It turned out that a woman who has insomnia four times a week or more, any woman, has more than two times the risk of developing breast cancer,” explained Professor of the Oncology Research Institute. N.N. Petrova Vladimir Anisimov.
Why is this happening? Often the development of cancer is associated with a lack of the hormone of darkness - melatonin. It is produced in the epiphysis - a small but important gland in the brain - during sleep with the lights off. Melatonin improves sleep, helps the body rest, and also has an antioxidant effect - it protects us from free radicals that cause cancer. When we start sleeping in the light, melatonin is not produced. The risk of cancer increases significantly. Scientists from the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Oncology were among the first to prove this mechanism by conducting a series of experiments on mice and rats.
“We have shown that exposure to light around the clock accelerates aging, accelerates the development of hormonal disorders and increases the risk of tumor development. And not only tumors, but also non-tumor pathologies. All this more often causes infections in rats that were kept in constant lighting conditions. Or in the conditions of white nights,” said Anisimov.
It turns out that long polar days and even the famous St. Petersburg white nights influence the development of cancer. According to statistics, residents of St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk or Magadan live less than residents of temperate latitudes. There are no white nights in the Russian capital, but Muscovites also suffer from a lack of melatonin. The hormone of darkness is not produced in the required quantities due to the powerful night lighting in the city.
Very few people can remain fully awake at night, but very few can sleep during the day. Moreover, even if the night owl feels great, such a schedule will sooner or later affect his health.
There are many restaurants in the world where visitors are offered refreshment in complete darkness. The essence of the trick is that without seeing food, people do not understand what they are eating and drinking. The food seems tasteless and strange. In the dark, without this information, we find ourselves at a loss and do not even recognize products that are well known to us. For many, darkness exacerbates another feeling - a feeling of fear.
“We have an instinct of self-preservation, an instinct of safety. Nature created us this way. Without this instinct, we would very quickly destroy ourselves, even in any game situation. But this instinct sometimes turns into an alarming, such a phobic stage in some individuals. We receive 90 percent of information through our eyes during normal times. And suddenly it’s dark, your eyes practically turn off. And this unknown: what’s behind, and what’s on the left, what’s on the right - this is already causing anxiety,” said psychotherapist Sergei Kulikov.
For a psychotherapist, it is obvious: fear of the dark is just the tip of the iceberg. At the heart of everything is a feeling of insecurity that arose in early childhood. The doctor prescribes a comprehensive treatment: first, a psychoanalysis session to figure out what caused the phobia, then hypnosis, which will help get rid of fear.
After one session, it is, of course, impossible to learn to control yourself in the dark. A long course of psychoanalysis and hypnosis is needed.
In addition, many people who do not have darkness-related phobias feel calm in the dark. It is no coincidence that in some Eastern religions there is a practice called “Dark Retreat”, or “Solitude in the Dark”. The point is simple: without external stimuli, it is easier for us to understand ourselves, get rid of habits and complexes that hinder us. Some practitioners sit in darkness this way for weeks.
“In India, in the East, psychiatric diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction are treated by locking a person for 21 days in a dark place, usually underground. And, being without light, the human brain completely goes through a cleansing phase,” says psychic and parapsychologist Vitaly Bograd.
Psychic Vitaly Bograd has tested himself in darkness more than once and warns: the method is effective, but dangerous. Not everyone is ready to endure a meeting with themselves in space, without a single ray of light.
“At a certain stage, there may be wild fear when you touch your inner fear-images. And these fear-images can be projected in the dark in such a way that you will fight with them,” says Bograd. The method that the psychic himself practices is quite severe: from two weeks to two months of complete darkness. You can only take water and a minimum of food with you.
However, if a person is not afraid to be alone with himself, even a few hours in the dark will help him relax.
It's half past seven in the morning, the sun is rising over Moscow. It's getting brighter every minute. We are accustomed to the fact that it is from these moments that real life begins. But let's imagine what would happen to humanity if we lived only in the light. Millions of people would not be able to sleep a wink. Every inhabitant of the earth would be exhausted from chronic fatigue. Failure of the biological clock would cause many fatal diseases. And all this because people have lost the several hours of darkness required for our body.
So, surprisingly, darkness is fraught not only with an abstract threat, but also with very concrete positive things: vigor, health, and sometimes a good mood.