Sleeping in TOO Dark Environment?

[FredSonoma]

Due to my fondness for the paleo lifestyle, I sleep in a COMPLETELY pitch dark environment... like literally can't see my hand waving in front of my face. Could this actually be bad for me? Might it be healthier to have some light?

 

[Mittir]

Stress hormones start increasing with sunset. You can keep these stress hormones suppressed if
you use bright red light ( 200-400 watts of regular incandescent light or a lot red LED, 5000-10000 flux)
from sunset till your bedtime. An hour or two before bed time is fine too..
This way body is strong enough to endure 7-8 hours of darkness during sleep.

 

[FredSonoma]

Stress hormones start increasing with sunset. You can keep these stress hormones suppressed if
you use bright red light ( 200-400 watts of regular incandescent light or a lot red LED, 5000-10000 flux)
from sunset till your bedtime. An hour or two before bed time is fine too..
This way body is strong enough to endure 7-8 hours of darkness during sleep.

Okay, so the actual sleeping environment being extremely dark is not as important?

 

[Kiwi]

Sleeping in a dark environment is actually good, it can't be too dark, but you shouldn't bother with it. More important would be ensuring you get enough daylight during the day and avoid being exposed to artificial light too much.

 

[mt_dreams]

It's about stressors. If sleeping in a dark room is relaxing, then go for it. If it stresses you out, then having a nightlight is the better option. It's about how quick you can fall, & stay asleep. The same goes for sounds. Every so often I will wake up when a loud car passes on my street b/c the sound is a stressor. Yet the bird calls that start around 430 do not stress me out and I usually don't wake up from them until around 7-8.

 

[FredSonoma]

Sleeping in a dark environment is actually good, it can't be too dark, but you shouldn't bother with it. More important would be ensuring you get enough daylight during the day and avoid being exposed to artificial light too much.

By "it can't be too dark" do you mean that it SHOULDN'T be too dark or that there's no such thing as TOO dark of a sleeping environment?