Using a computer or smartphone at night can cause us to【C1】________on the pounds, new research has revealed.

The study found a link between blue light【C2】_____—blue light is【C3】__by smartphones and tablets—and increased hunger. It found that exposure【C4】__the light increases hunger levels for several hours and even increases hunger levels【C5】_____eating a meal.

Results of the United States study show that blue-enriched light exposure, compared with【C6】_____light exposure, was【C7】__with an increase in hunger that began 15 minutes after light onset and was still【C8】_____ almost two hours after the meal. Blue light exposure has also already been shown to decreased【C9】________in the evening increasing the risk of insomnia.

Study co-author Ivy Cheung, of Northwestern University, in Chicago, said: “A single three-hour exposure to blue-enriched light in the evening【C10】_____impacted hunger and glucose metabolism. These results are important because they suggest that【C11】__environmental light exposure for humans may represent a novel 【C12】__of influencing food【C13】_____patterns and metabolism.”

The study group【C14】_____10 healthy adults with regular sleep and eating schedules who received【C15】__carbohydrate-rich meals. They completed a four-day trial【C16】__dim light conditions,【C17】__involved exposure to less than 20 lux during 16 hours【C18】_____and less than three lux during eight hours of sleep. On day three they were exposed to three hours of 260 lux, blue-enriched light starting 10.5 hours after waking up, and the effects were compared with dim light exposure on day two.

Ms Cheung said more research is needed to determine the【C19】_____of action【C20】_____in the relationship between light exposure, hunger and metabolism.

【C10】