Running Head: DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS?

Does Sleeping with a Nightlight Cause

Cognitive Detriments in Adults?

Brendan Sheehan, University of Waterloo

Dec, 2009

Abstract

There is an established link between poor sleep habits and reduced performance on various
cognitive tasks (Tucker & Fishbein, 2009). Recent research findings have suggested a
physiological pathway which would enable light to influence sleep and wakefulness via non-
visual inputs to the mammalian brain (Hattar et al, 2002). At present the basis of most research
into this pathway have been neuroanatomical in nature. The current study investigated the
possible behavioural effects of sleeping with ambient room lighting. We examined a small subset
of cognitive abilities in young adults before and after sleeping with a nightlight. Our results
indicate that adults perform poorer on retests of numerical logic and memory after sleeping with
a nightlight.
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 2

Does Sleeping with a Nightlight Cause Cognitive Detriments in Children and Adults?

In comparison to the numerous other activities individuals engage in on a daily basis we

spend a considerable portion of our lives sleeping. Given the substantial time we spend resting it

is surprising how little attention science and academia have devoted to furthering our

understanding of sleep. Only recently have we begun to understand the function of sleep as well

as the underlying physiological mechanisms involved in sleeping. A review of published material

suggests that poor sleep habits are linked to a range of physiological and behavioural problems.

A recent longitudinal study quantified the sleep habits of 98 Israeli school children across their

Kindergarten year. After the group completed grade one researchers compared the children’s

sleep habits with their academic performance. The results showed that the six children who failed

grade one scored significantly worse on various metrics of sleep quality. The children that failed

took almost twice as long to fall asleep and woke up over twice as often as children that passed

(Ravid, Afek, Suraiya, Shahar & Pillar, 2009). Similar links have been found in adults as well.

One study showed that after just two nights of sleeping 5 hours or less adults reported increased

sleepiness throughout the day, performed simple motor tasks with slower reaction times and

scored more negatively on subjective ratings of their mood (Cote, Milner, Smith, Aubin,

Greason, Cuthbert, . . . Duffus, 2009).

We wished to investigate the possible effects the environment a person sleeps in could

have on their quality of sleep. As individuals we demonstrate numerous preferences for our sleep

environments including attire, temperature, mattress selection and, for some, whether or not to

sleep with a nightlight. The current study examined whether sleeping with a nightlight could

cause cognitive detriments during the ensuing day. This hypothesis is supported by research
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 3

suggesting a physiological pathway that enables non-visual light information to affect areas of

the mammalian brain responsible for sleep and wakefulness.

This pathway begins at the eyelid of a sleeping human being. One need only glance at the

sun through closed eyes to realize our eyelids do not act as perfect shutters. Ophthalmologic

research into the light exposure neonates endure confirms this. Experimental studies have shown

that up to 38% of polychromatic white light can pass through the neonatal eyelid (Robinson,

Bayliss & Fielder, 1991). Light which crosses the eyelids of a sleeping human proceeds to act

upon the retinal tissue of the eyes within. Contained within this retinal tissue are the classical

vision photoreception cells (the rods and cones) as well as a recently discovered subset of cells

known as intrinsically photosensitive ganglion retinal cells (ipGRCs) (Berson, Dunn & Takao,

2002). These ipGRCs compose approximately 1-2% of the mammalian retina and differ

markedly in both function and axonal projections (Hattar, Liao, Takao, Berson & Yau, 2002).

Experiments with non-human ipGRCs reveals these cells exhibit little adaption to endured

stimuli and fire at a relatively constant rate regardless of the strength of the light stimuli (Berson

et al, 2002). The sleeping human’s brain is thus unintentionally affected by dim ambient lighting

with little evidence of neuronal adaption to prolonged stimuli. The ipGRCs involved in this

pathway are also unique in their axonal projections. A study which traced the projections of

ipGRCs in mice found non-visual light information was directly conveyed to numerous areas of

the brain involved in sleep and wakefulness (Hattar, Kumar, Park, Tong, Tung, Yau & Berson,

2006). Included within these areas were the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus (SCN).

The SCN has been dubbed the central clock and linked to numerous functions including

regulation of vigilance and somnolence (Ralph, Foster, Davis & Menaker, 1990). Although these

studies were primarily based on non-human mammals a ground breaking biological study
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 4

demonstrated that humans can indeed be affected by non-visual light information. Researchers

presented light stimuli to two subjects that were legally blind as a result of degenerative retinal

disease. The results showed that various physiological indicators of wakefulness could be shifted

temporally in two completely blind subjects with light stimuli alone (Zaidi, Hull, Peirson, Wulff,

Aeschbach, Gooley, . . . Lockley, 2007). Overall, this pathway suggests that dim ambient lighting

can pass through closed eyelids of a sleeping human to unique cells within the eyes and act upon

areas of the brain involved in regulation of sleep and wakefulness.

Although there is an increasing level of research into this physiological pathway the

majority of the present material has been neuroanatomical in nature. The current study aimed to

examine the possible effects of light on this pathway from a behavioural standpoint. Given the

established links between poor sleep habits and impaired functioning we asked whether sleeping

with a nightlight can cause cognitive detriments. We pre-tested a group of young adults on a

small sub-set of cognitive abilities including memory, visual and numerical logic and simple

mathematics. After randomly assigning the participants to sleep either in the dark or with a

nightlight we then retested the same cognitive abilities and measured the differences.
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 5

Method

Participants

Research participants were 15 undergrad students selected from a 3rd year research

methods course in developmental psychology (4 males, 11 females, Mage = 22.33 years, age

range: 20-27 years). The adult group began with 17 participants and suffered 2 study dropouts.

The two study dropouts completed the pre-test but did not appear for subsequent re-testing.

Design

In this experiment participants received pre and post experimental testing to examine the

possible effects of sleeping with a nightlight. We utilized a within-subjects design to reduce the

confounding effects of inter-participant variability. After randomly assigning participants to sleep

either in the dark or with a nightlight we tested and retested a small subset of cognitive abilities.

Our effect of interest was the differences between test and retest for both age conditions. Each

study participant was tracked with a confidential ID number. We asked all participants to refrain

from consuming any alcoholic or caffeinated beverages for two days prior to, as well as during,

the study. For the purposes of this study a nightlight was defined as providing minor ambient

lighting. Participants assigned to the nightlight category were instructed to utilize any of the

following: a child nightlight plugged into a bedroom wall outlet, an adjacent bathroom/closet

light left on with the door left slightly ajar or a lamp placed into a closet with the door left

slightly ajar. The cognitive abilities we were able to examine were bound by the limitations of

the current study. We selected only cognitive domains that could be tested with pencil and paper

methods during a limited time frame. Participants were assessed in the cognitive domains of

visual reasoning, numerical reasoning and short term memory.

DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 6

Procedure

Study participants were tested together within a classroom at UW. Participants were

seated, handed a questionnaire sheet and instructed not to turn it over. Pre and post-experiment

condition testing was administered with a PowerPoint presentation and lasted approximately 10

minutes. Participants were issued a sealed envelope at the end of their pre-testing session.

Enclosed was the participant’s random assignment to sleep either in the dark or with a nightlight.

In the latter case, contained within the envelope were additional instructions explaining the

possible methods to facilitate a nightlight. The adult participants were tested with the Complete

the pattern test, Interpret the Graph test, and a test of free word recall. See Table 1 for an in-depth

explanation of each test and the process with which it was administered.

Table 1
Cognitive Tests Utilized
Cognitive Ability Test Description Process Answer Schema

Visual Logic Complete pattern • adults presented with four images • pre and post experiment
• must select which image, of five possible, testing each had three
best completes the pattern unique trials
• see Appendix - Figure 1 for example • participant had to correctly
indicate which of five
possible images best
completed pattern

Numerical Logic Interpret graph • participants were shown a graph with an
accompanying short explanation
• pre-experiment was Burger King’s
Journey to work (see Appendix - Figure
2)
• post-experiment was 100m sprint times
for cartoon characters (see Appendix -
Figure 3)
• participants were asked
three separate question for
both pre and post
experiment testing
• answers were graded in
against a pre-determined
marking scheme

Short-term Free word recall • participants were shown a list of 20
Memory random words
• after a finite viewing time adults were
asked to recall as many words as possible
• 2nd surprise test was administered 4-5 min
later asking adults to again recall as many
words from memory
• test paper adults utilized
was designed to facilitate
surprise 2nd test
• number of recalled words
was compared to both pre
and post experiment testing
for both initial recall and
surprise recall
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 7

Results

We utilized a pre-determined answer key to calculate each participant’s pre and post test

percentile scores. These scores were then combined based on age group and experimental

category assignment. We then calculated the percentile pre and post experiment means for the

three cognitive domains we assessed for both age conditions. Finally we calculated the

percentage point differences between group pre-experiment and post-experiment mean scores. As

can be seen in Table 2 participants that slept with a nightlight performed poorer on retests of

numerical logic and short term memory.

Table 2
Cognitive Performance Scores
Child Adult

Test Scores Mathematical Visual Reasoning Memory Visual Numerical Memory

Dark Condition

Pre-Experiment 70.8% 70.4% 35% 76.2 57% 24.3%

Post-Experiment 91.7% 63% 41% 66.7 66.7% 25.6%

Difference 20.9% -7.4% 6% -9.5 9.7% 1.3%

Nightlight Condition

Pre-Experiment 70% 63% 37% 75% 55% 20%

Post-Experiment 44% 59% 33% 83.3% 43.8% 18.4%

Difference -26% -4% -4% 8.3% -11.2% -1.6%

DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 8

Discussion

Our study showed that sleeping with a nightlight can cause detriments in certain domains

of cognitive ability in young adults. Participants who sleep with a nightlight perform worse on

retests of numerical logic and memory. Participants in the nightlight condition did not perform

poorer on measures of visual reasoning. As research into the behavioural affects of light on sleep

and the brain is limited we are restricted in positing possible explanations for this.

One might argue that the cognitive detriments observed in the nightlight condition may

have been confounded by the participant sleeping in an unusual, and potentially uncomfortable,

environment. We do agree that sleep onset may be affected negatively by the addition of a

nightlight and thus it may take longer for a participant to fall asleep than normal. To counteract

this in the future we would extend the length of the study to include nights for participants to

become acclimatized to the nightlight. We feel that other than sleep onset the addition of the

nightlight had no other confounding affects. The physiological pathway suggested relies on

unconscious brainstem and mid-brain pathways. We have found no evidence of humans

consciously attending to stimuli while sleeping. We can conclude the cognitive detriments

observed in the nightlight condition were as a result of the participant being unconsciously

affected by ambient room lighting.

When considering future research the current experiment may have been limited by the

operational bounds of this study. The range of outcomes we were able to examine post

experiment were confined to variables that could be measured with paper and pencil tests

administered in a relatively short timeframe. In future studies we would measure reaction times

to simple motor tasks as well as behavioural outcomes. As well we would support our hypothesis
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 9

with various physiological indicators. Research into a related field examining the effects of light

on circadian rhythm in humans has used physiological measures such as core-body temperature

and analysis of blood for melatonin content (Zeitzer, Dijk, Kronauer, Brown, Czeisler, 2000).

As the human race is pressured to accomplish more with a reducing and aging population

some will inevitably investigate whether we can spend more time awake. We are just beginning

to understand why we spend such a significant portion of our time asleep and what is occurring

while we sleep. Future research will hopefully provide further insight into not only what amount

of sleep the human brain requires but also what constitutes the most effective sleep habits.
DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 10

References

Berson, D., Dunn, F. & Takao, M., (2002). Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the
circadian clock. Science, 295, 1070-1073. doi:10.1126/science.1067262

Cote, K., Milner, C., Smith, B., Aubin, A., Greason, T., Cuthbert, B., . . . Duffus, S. (2009). CNS
arousal and neurobehavioural performance in a short-term sleep restriction paradigm.
Journal of Sleep Research, 18, 291-303. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.0073.x

Hattar, S., Liao, H., Takao, M., Berson, D., Yau, K. (2002) Melanopsin-containing retinal
ganglion cells: architecture, projections, and intrinsic photosensitivity. Science, 295,
1065-1070 doi:10.1126/science.1069609

Hattar, S., Kumar, M., Park, A., Tong, P., Tung, J., Yau, K. & Berson, D. (2006) Central
projections of melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells in the mouse. The Journal of
Comparative Neurology, 497. 326-349

Ralph, M., Foster, R., Davis, F. & Menaker, M. (1990). Transplanted suprachiasmatic nucleus
determines circadian period. Science, 247(4945), 975-978. Retrieved from http://
www.jstor.org/stable/2873899

Ravid, S., Afek, I., Suraiya, S., Shahar, E. & Pillar, G., (2009). Sleep disturbances are associated
with reduced school achievements in first-grade pupils. Developmental Neuropsychology,
34(5), 574-587. doi:10.1080/87565640903133533

Robinson, J., Bayliss, S., Fielder, A., (1991). Transmission of light across the adult and neonatal
eyelid in vivo. Vision Research, 31(10), 1837-1840. doi:10.1016/0042=6989(91)90031-y

Tucker, M. & Fishbein, W. (2009) The impact of sleep duration and subject intelligence on
declarative and motor memory performance: how much is enough? Journal of Sleep
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Zaidi, F., Hull, J., Peirson, S., Wulff, K., Aeschbach, D., Gooley, J., . . . Lockley, S. (2007) Short
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Zeitzer, J., Dijk, D., Kronauer, R., Brown, E., Czeisler, C. (2000) Sensitivity of the human
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DO NIGHTLIGHTS CAUSE COGNITIVE DETRIMENTS? 11

Appendix
Figure 1
Example of adult visual logic question

Figure 2
Burger King’s journey to work

Figure 3
100m sprint times for the school year