Science says dim lights = dim wits. More light is likely a bright idea

Depending on the flexibility of your workday (and your tolerance for colder climes), you may want to bundle up and read this outside, or by a bay window. If you get any push back from the higher ups, tell them it'll be good for the bottom line: a little natural light will likely boost your brain function and your productivity. Should they remain unmoved, know that science at least, can back you up.

New neuroscientific research out of Michigan State University has shown that countless hours spent indoors under poor lighting may negatively affect our capacity for memory and learning. Data from the recent study also suggest that dim interior lighting, typical to the office spaces we often toil in, may even change our brain structure. And significantly so.

When rats were exposed to dim light for four weeks straight they not only suffered massive losses in hippocampus capacity (as much as 30%), they struggled to perform a spatial task that, surprisingly, they'd already been trained for and were previously quite good at. If you're smug in the knowledge that you, sir or madam, are not a rat, consider that your hippocampus, just like a rat's, is responsible for learning and memory. Consider too that it was the brains of Nile grass rats in this case that proved most useful for the study because they're diurnal (the opposite of nocturnal, just like us) and have similar circadian rhythms to the average human.

The cheery find here is that Nile rats who were instead exposed to a month of bright light enjoyed a happy and significant spike in aptitude while performing the very same task as their dimmer counterparts. What's more, rodents that had been exposed to bright light for four solid weeks after being kept in a darker enclosement experienced a full recovery in both brain capacity and task performance. May that knowledge offer you and your brain a modicum of hope as you muddle through these last weeks (months?) of winter.

Though light and brain function have been studied before, this research is the first to correlate distinct structural changes in the brain with the kind of everyday environmental lighting humans are subject to. Note that Canadians spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, according to the National Research Council — and it's safe to presume that any time we spend outdoors gets all the rarer during the more inclement seasons.

On that note, your summer brain and your winter brain are probably different. Your brain may be drastically changing back and forth — from useful to, well, less useful — based on how how much light you're giving it. Dr. Tony Nunez, professor of psychology at Michigan State and study co-author explains that "when we exposed the rats to dim light, mimicking the cloudy days of Midwestern winters or typical indoor lighting, the animals showed impairments in spatial learning." He likens it to you struggling to remember where you parked your car after milling about a dark mall or sitting in movie theatre for a couple of hours. Though do imagine what's been happening to your brain now that we're three months into a decidedly rough winter (if your brain is still up to the task, that is).

The significant light switch in mental prowess, say researchers, all seems to hang on an amino acid called brain derived neurotrophic factor. It's a peptide that helps regulate neural connectivity or rather, clear communication from one neuron to another. Joel Soler, a doctoral graduate student in psychology involved in the study explains that when "there are fewer connections being made, this results in diminished learning and memory performance that is dependent upon the hippocampus." Soler tells it straight: "dim lights are producing dimwits." The case for a brisk stroll on your lunch break.

More light, however, may not be the only recourse for those looking to boost brain performance. At least not down the line. Given that your hippocampus is buried deep enough in your melon to never see the light of day, other parts of the brain are responsible for informing it that light has entered the eyes. For Dr. Lily Yan, associate professor of psychology and the study's lead researcher, that means asking some unprecedented and exciting questions. "For people with eye disease who don't receive much light, can we directly manipulate this group of neurons in the brain, bypassing the eye, and provide them with the same benefits of bright light exposure?" She hints at future research yielding tools to help assuage or even reverse cognitive issues that hinge on our light-dependent brain biochemistry. "Another possibility," she adds, "is improving the cognitive function in the aging population and those with neurological disorders." Yan hopes her study, and others like it, could also directly impact future care for the elderly, who are much more prone to ailments like glaucoma, retinal degeneration and mental decline.

One thing the research has underscored is that "bright light is beneficial over dim light for cognitive performance." That's a direct quote from the study. Any Canadian already counting the days until spring may not need be reminded of the virtues of getting outdoors but it has been proven to be healing and rejuvenating in all sort of ways. It reduces anxiety, boosts moods, lends itself well to increased activity (which remains an excellent option for improved wellness) and has even been shown to increase cognitive skills like ability to concentrate in kids wrestling with ADHD. It also just helps children get along better. As for adults, it may reverse a cognitive deficit of 30% brought on by a brain busting combo of winter hibernation and too much time hustling at the office. So, do get outside today. Or at least as close to a window seat as your boss will allow.

Marc Beaulieu is a Montreal writer, producer, performer, professional host and mental health advocate whose one true love is weird news.