A Redditor bumped into a challenge with a neighbor and needed to vent to the community at r/mildlyinfuriating.
"My neighbors' new LED light," wrote the original poster, alongside a photo of a bright light at night. "We live in the woods this is from our bedroom window."
Sadly, neighbors like this aren't unheard of. LED lights are an energy-efficient upgrade from incandescent bulbs, but they can be more harmful in outdoor settings like this. Light at night can yield poor health outcomes for humans.
"It is estimated that white LED lamps have five times greater impact on circadian sleep rhythms than conventional street lamps," said the American Medical Association. "Recent large surveys found that brighter residential nighttime lighting is associated with reduced sleep times, dissatisfaction with sleep quality, excessive sleepiness, impaired daytime functioning and obesity."
Light pollution can equally disorient wildlife, disrupting feeding, migration, sleep, and mating behaviors.
Some organizations, like DarkSky, have been working to minimize light pollution. They've been able to coordinate citywide campaigns, work on alternative lighting solutions, and advocate for policy changes. Taking local action with a group like this can directly tackle the issue of light pollution and the damage it has on both ecosystems and neighbor relations.
Reddit commenters were quick to sympathize with the original poster.
"I hate these. There's a new one at our camp on a pond. It turns on and off all night. Just awful," said one community member.
"LED light? Is this not a distant star, collapsing on itself and creating a quasar that's brighter than the sun itself?" said another. "I would put a mirror in my window and reflect it back to the source."
Luckily, the original poster was able to get in touch with their neighbor and got them to change the angle of the light.