A doctor has issued an urgent warning to anyone who uses LED bulbs in their homes - describing it as a public health emergency "like asbestos". Dr Glen Jeffery, professor of Neuroscience at University College London, is an expert on how different colours can impact overall health.

His research explains that red, near-infared and infrared light - the kind of sun rays you catch during a sunrise or sunset - can enter the body and brain to boost a range of bodily functions, including metabolism, eyesight, along with our moods. However, he also explains that light from LED bulbs can impact mitochondrial health - essentially how well cells in our bodies are functioning.

If cells are in good shape, people will feel more energetic and recover from illnesses more quickly. Their bodies will also run more smoothly.

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Dr Jeffery believes the impact of LED light is “an issue on the same level as asbestos”. They have a greater impact as they emit higher levels of blue light - causing eye strain, headaches, and a range of other issues.

He told the Andrew Huberman podcast: “This is a public health issue and it’s big. LEDs came in and people won the Nobel prize for this, very rightly at the time because they save a lot of energy.

“The LED has got a big blue spike in it, though we tend not to see that. And that is even true of warm LEDs, and there is no red.”

Dr Jeffery has carried out studies in which he measures the impact of LED lights on mice. He went on: “We can watch the mice mitochondria gently go downhill. They’re far less responsive, their membrane potentials are coming down, the mitochondria are not breathing very well.”

He said this was “under LED lighting at the same energy levels that we would find in a domestic or a commercial environment”. In one study, they experienced dramatic weight gain over the course of a week.

Academics at the University of Exeter previously found a dramatic increase in LED lighting across Europe. It also suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep patterns in humans.

This increased exposure to LED lighting can impact people’s sleeping habits and result in a variety of chronic health conditions. As of 2020, approximately 55% of all UK street lights were thought to use LED bulbs.

David Smith, of the conservation charity Buglife, has also highlighted the impact of light pollution on animals. He said: “Light pollution can dramatically impact invertebrates, whether that be how they go about their daily lives, or even by reducing populations of species that live in habitats lit by LED lights.

“Given that invertebrates are already suffering dramatic declines, it is vital that we relieve them from all pressures to provide the best chance of recovery.

“We should consider light from a wider biological perspective than that of just humans [and] we must focus on better quality lighting that is harmonious with our natural world. Better quality and lower levels of lighting would help save energy, and lower financial costs, while also making our environment safer for invertebrates.”