WASHINGTON—Saying even 10 minutes of evening exposure can lead to a night of low-quality sleep, the National Sleep Foundation recommended on Tuesday cutting down on strobe lights before bedtime. “Strobe light actually has a pronounced stimulating effect on the brain, so when winding down for the night, it’s best to look directly into it as little possible,” said spokesperson Lisa Mullany, adding that, even when dampened by neon gel filters or the fog from a dry-ice machine, the ultra-bright beams discharging every few milliseconds send a signal to the body’s internal clock that can often disrupt its sleep-wake cycle. “Even something as seemingly harmless as omni-directional moving-head fixtures that alternate between fun geometrical patterns can interfere with your natural melatonin production, in effect wreaking havoc with both the length and quality of sleep.” Mullany also recommended limiting any accompanying EDM and dubstep, whose rapid, thumping beats are also known to upset the body’s natural circadian rhythms.

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