The effects of artificial light on human health
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will hold the second evidence session of its new inquiry: The effects of artificial light and noise on human health.
The Committee will hear from two panels of witnesses: first from Dr Christopher Kyba, Researcher at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Shantha Rajaratnam, Professor of Sleep and Circadian Medicine at Monash University and Manuel Spitschan, Professor of Chronobiology and Health at the Technical University of Munch; second from Stuart Peirson, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and Kenneth Wright, Professor of Distinction and Director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The session will focus on the sources of artificial light, the scientific evidence base for the relationship between artificial light and human health effects, including the possible mechanisms mediating such effects, as well as future developments that may call for regulatory change. The committee will explore the robustness of the scientific evidence and what further research is needed.
Meeting details
Possible question areas
- The major impacts of artificial light on human health
- The mechanisms by which artificial light affects human health
- What we know about the effects of so-called blue light and bright LEDs
- Potential changes to the distribution and intensity of artificial light in the future