Data: White and amber light at night disrupt sleep physiology in birds

Here we show, by measuring brain activity, that both white and amber lighting disrupt sleep in birds, but that the magnitude of these effects differs between species. When experimentally exposed to light at night at intensities typical of urban areas, domestic pigeons (Columba livia) and wild-caught Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen tyrannica) slept less, favoured non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep over REM sleep, slept less intensely, and had more fragmented sleep compared to when lights were switched off.

In pigeons, these disruptive effects on sleep were similar for white and amber lighting. For magpies, however, amber light had less impact on sleep. Our results demonstrate that amber lighting can minimize sleep disruption in some birds, but that this benefit may not be universal.