Dim lights before sleep if you are pregnant

PREGNANT women should dim lights and turn off screens three hours before bedtime to prevent gestational diabetes, scientists have advised.

Their warning follows a study of more than 700 pregnant women by Northwestern University in Illinois, that found women who developed the condition had greater light exposure in the hours before sleeping.

Gestational diabetes occurs when the body cannot produce sufficient insulin to control higher levels of blood sugar during pregnancy and can lead to premature births or stillbirth, pre-eclampsia or the need for a caesarean section.

“Exposure before bedtime may be an under-recognised, yet easily modifiable risk factor of gestational diabetes,” said lead study author Dr Minjee Kim. “Gestational diabetes is known to increase obstetric complications and the mother’s risk of diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Offspring also are more likely to have obesity and hypertension.”

The study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine.