Canberra’s version of Vivid – the annual drone show around Australia Day. Photo: AGB.
Canberrans love complaining that the city is “dead” after dark. Especially as we plunge into the depths of winter, and rugging up and going out sounds like too much hard work.
But maybe this is not such a bad thing.
While the innards of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane hum late into the night, Canberra could have a card up its sleeve – in the form of sleep.
Back in 2021, a global study by UK eye health company Lenstore ranked Canberra the best city in the world for a good night’s sleep, thanks largely to its low levels of noise and light pollution.
And according to an expert we spoke to, there might actually be some science behind it.
Canberra’s nights are getting darker
For an astronomer, Canberra is already special.
Dr Brad Tucker from the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory says while street lighting on the ground has become brighter, the city’s skies are actually getting darker.
“The skies are about 30 per cent darker in the past decade or so, but the light to the ground is actually exceeding the Australian standards for lighting,” he says.
That’s because newer street lights are designed differently.
“The lights are now installed flat, and shielded at the top so instead of spilling upward, it all goes downward.”
A state-of-the-art telescope at the ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station (QOGS) at Mount Stromlo Observatory. Photo: Nic Vevers/ANU.
The result is less “sky glow” compared to other cities – good news for astronomers, wildlife and anyone wanting to see the stars.
“It is better for animals, the night sky, etc,” Dr Tucker says.
That said, more light can bring more of some types of wildlife.
Parliament House famously had to switch off lights in the 1990s to stop bogong moths swarming the building during their annual migration south.
“It acts like a giant light trap,” a parliamentary report from the time noted.
The reduced lighting eventually saved taxpayers about $19,000 a year in power bills too.
So does darkness actually help us sleep?
According to ANU sleep researcher Dr Tergel Namsrai, it probably does – at least in theory.
“Our circadian rhythm is set by the light,” he says.
“When there’s light, it’s on. When there is no light, it’s kind of off.”
Dr Namsrai, whose PhD focuses on sleep and brain health, says humans are biologically wired to respond to the contrast between bright days and dark nights.
She’s had two kids since moving from Mongolia in 2018, so she can’t really say her sleep has improved. But she says Canberra certainly felt “very dark”.
“Theoretically, if it’s bright days and dark nights, that is really important in sleep.”
That’s because light controls the body clock that regulates everything from metabolism and hormones to memory and immune function.
But modern life complicates things.
Even if the night outside is darker than most cities, many people are still sitting under lamps, scrolling phones or watching television late into the night.
ANU’s Dr Tergel Namsrai. Photo: Dementia Australia.
Dr Namsrai says studies have shown even dim indoor lighting can delay the body’s natural sleep behaviours.
“They found it does actually interrupt some of those behaviours, and they lengthen the time to bed.”
In other words, Canberra’s darker streets might help, but not if you’re doom-scrolling until midnight.
The city of sleep … anxiety?
There is one catch.
Another study, released last year by Australian bedding company Pillow Talk, found Canberrans were among the country’s most restless sleepers.
The city ranked highest for Google searches related to nightmares (35.35 searches per capita) and sleep anxiety (8.85 searches per capita).
That doesn’t necessarily mean people here sleep worse, though.
Dr Namsrai suspects Canberra’s more predictable, office hours lifestyle may still work in its favour overall.
“I’ve seen a lot more people here in Australia, especially in Canberra, who go to bed at nine and wake up at early in the morning,” she says.
“This is very nomadic; it’s what my grandparents used to do – if the light’s up, they were up, and when the light’s off, they’re going to bed.”
Our lower temperatures don’t hurt either.
“What’s really important is light … but we do need certain temperature to fall asleep. In fact, one of the ways we know a person is sleeping is based on body temperature dropping.”
Her advice for the perfect sleep routine?
“Up at the light, and keep a regular rhythm throughout the day – regular physical activities – so everything is expected, predictable. This will anchor your circadian rhythm.”
