As you get older I’m fairly certain one of the main concerns of a lot of people is not getting fat and doing whatever they can to prevent this and it turns out that there’s a new reason for you piling on the pounds: leaving the TV on whilst you fall asleep.

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You’re probably wondering how this could possibly affect your weight, but thankfully researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences are hear to tell us. The authors of the study obtained data from 43,722 women aged between 35 and 74 years old over a period of at least five years to tell us that exposure to artificial light whilst sleeping led to a 17% chance of a 5kg weight gain over 5 years.

These results were confirmed by Professor Malcolm von Schantz from the University of Surrey, who said the following:

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The findings make perfect biological sense.

We know that light in the late evening will delay our body clocks.

We know from experimental studies in people that light at night affects our metabolism in ways that are consistent with increased risk of metabolic syndrome.

These new findings won’t change the advice to maintain good sleep hygiene, and avoid light and electronic distractions in the bedroom, but they add further strength to the case for this advice.

Well there you have it. It’s not just falling asleep in front of the TV but even using your phone and having the light on when you’re in bed. I doubt too many people are really going to change their habits and not mess around with their phone before they go to sleep because everyone just loves doing that don’t they? Maybe this will cause people to put their phones down, turn the TV off and read a book before they go to sleep. We can but hope.

For more of the same, check out this new game show which gets guys to decide whether women are fat or pregnant. That should end well.