Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival By Wiley with Formby

Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival
By T.S. Wiley with Bent Formby, PhD
Atria Books

In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan encouraged us to “just say no” to drugs. In Lights Out, authors Wiley and Formby urge us to “just say goodnight.” There’s a parallel between the two messages. Originally published in 2001, Lights Out still packs a powerful punch today. Backing up each of its premises with scientific studies and data, the book questions presuppositions and erroneous strategies for regaining health based on conventional medical and governmental agency guidelines.

Sleeplessness is crazy-making, disrupting our hormones and brain function. Sleeplessness leads to type II diabetes, obesity and cancer. Sugar consumption (and not just refined sugar) is just as troublesome for our health. The overconsumption of carbohydrates causes issues with insulin resistance, weight gain and hypertension. Sadly, these conditions are simply “the short list.”

The crux of Lights Out is that we are charting a perilous course when we shortchange ourselves on sleep and overindulge in sugar. Wiley and Formby make a compelling case that lighting up our world and making sugar constantly available has negative effects. We seem to have adopted the mantra “lights on, sugar in” as the societal norm. They suggest that the advent of processed foods and artificial light has unwittingly turned us from a predominantly healthy population into a people riddled with health problems.

Our bodies cannot handle the constant inputs of artificial light and perpetual carbohydrate intake. Our lit-up environment—where nighttime effectively has been eliminated—puts our bodies on high alert. Our cortisol shoots up and stays up. We are wired and ready to go during daylight hours—but with laptops, Netflix and LED lights at every turn, there is no relief or “sunset” in sight. This state inevitably leads to dis-ease and depression. We then self-medicate with sugar (often in the form of bread, pasta, candies and pastries), and sometimes turn to pills, all-too-readily allowing the prescriptions for the latter for our children. The authors cite an alarming statistic from 1996, noting that our children received over seven hundred thousand prescriptions for Prozac that year. (As of 2021, 8.2 percent of five- to seventeen-year-olds— about one in twelve—had taken medication for mental health in the past year.)

The book goes into detail about how carbs and light impact our hormonal balance (serotonin and dopamine) and energy production in the mitochondria. Wiley and Formby explain that when the days are longer in the summertime, we will naturally consume more carbohydrates in the form of fruits and vegetables, as our ancestors did. The problem is that our brightly lit modern lives unwittingly deceive our bodies and lead them to believe it is always summer and never winter, throwing off many basic bodily functions. This cycle of more light, more carbs and less melatonin is leading to premature sickness and death.

Wiley and Formby also critique conventional approaches to treating cancer, diabetes and even alcoholism. For example, they mention a Native American man dealing with alcohol addiction on his reservation. He stops drinking only to eventually start again. Occasionally, he temporarily replaces the alcohol with cigarettes, Pepsi and television. The authors put it this way: “Genetically, [Native Americans] have no tolerance for sleep loss and the sugar cravings or depression that follows. They are living in an alien environment for their group genetics. Our environment.”

The authors include extensive endnotes that refer readers to articles, scientific studies and other resources for further investigation. There is also a bibliography and a glossary of terms for quick reference. Thankfully, the authors also offer a prescriptive chapter with concrete suggestions. Their primary conclusion? For physical, mental and emotional homeostasis, prioritize sleep. Turn the lights out, just as the title suggests. And for hormonal balance and a healthy lifespan, avoid sugar like the plague. I do not agree with a couple of their recommendations (such as the suggestion to avoid drinking milk), but in general, I find myself in agreement with many of their statements. To wit:

“There never really was any scientific basis for the low-fat movement, only a financial one. When it comes to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and depression, everything we believe is a lie. No fat, no future. We’ve created morning at midnight. And it’s driving us mad. Preventative medicine is thought of as alternative medicine in this country. And young doctors aren’t taught the art of healing; they’re taught pharmacology.”

The final chapter reminds us to stay skeptical of authority. The authors quote William Burroughs, who once said “Paranoia is the highest form of consciousness,” and encourage us to ask questions, explore and seek solutions since “no one is guarding your health and survival except you.” This book deserves a hearty thumbs up.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fall 2024

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