City lights now proven to sharply increase the risk of cancer due to “blue light” wavelengths from common LEDs

Do you look at your smartphone in bed? Do you work night shift? Do you live in the city? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need to know that a new study has found that exposure to artificial lighting at night can raise a person’s risk of developing prostate or breast cancer.

The study, which was carried out by Spanish researchers, looked at people’s exposure to outdoor artificial light from streetlights using satellite imagery from the International Space Station along with their exposure to indoor artificial light as self-reported in questionnaires. They studied more than 4,000 people with and without breast and prostate cancer from 11 regions in Spain from 2008 to 2013, examining the blue light spectrum data for each person’s longest residence.

The people who were exposed to higher amounts of blue light outdoors at night had a 1.5-fold greater risk of breast cancer and a twofold higher chance of prostate cancer when compared to those with less exposure. Moreover, men who were exposed to higher levels of indoor artificial light had a prostate cancer risk that was 2.8-fold higher.