The Study Linking Fluorescent Light to Malignant Melanoma

May 9

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This article is for informational purposes only and should not replace medical guidance from a qualified healthcare provider.

I really don’t know about you, but there are some days I wake up and I’m more tired than I was before I went to bed.

Now, granted, yes, I do have insomnia, nightterrors, and PTSD, but there’s a certain kind of tired that lives behind the eyes and throbs when you don’t sleep enough.
I used to chalk it up to long days, my trauma, too much screen time, and the ordinary wear and tear of modern life as I got older.
Somewhere along the way though, I started to wonder why do I feel so drained in certain places?
Why does the light in some rooms feel like a headache waiting to happen?

The answer came slowly via a whole lot of Googling and asking around to other people.
Apparently, it was buzzing overhead the whole time. Fluorescent lighting, my new arch nemesis.

And once I saw what it might be doing to my body, what it might be doing to all of us, I didn’t just change my lightbulbs.
I changed how I see the world. (Dramatic? Sure, but you’re here for it).

The Study They Didn’t Want You to See

Back in 1982, a peer-reviewed study slipped into the world with the potential to rattle it.

It linked fluorescent lighting to malignant melanoma, a dangerous and increasingly common form of skin cancer. Not sun exposure, not genetics, lighting, your indoor artificial, every day lights.

The researchers (J.W. Beral, L.A. Robinson, and F.C. Alexander) examined over 900 melanoma cases across the U.K. and found a correlation between extended exposure to fluorescent lights and higher melanoma risk. Particularly among office workers and those under flickering tubes for hours a day.

But here’s the kicker, the study didn’t make waves.

It didn’t end up on the nightly news, it didn’t prompt a manufacturing recall, it just...disappeared into dusty archives. A forgotten footnote.
In fact, the study received little press attention and absolutely no policy follow-up, despite being one of the first to question artificial light exposure rather than sunlight. Later research (some paid for by “charitable” donations that I can’t find the real answer to no matter how long I spent digging into it) muddied the picture, showing inconsistent or weaker links, which is why it faded from view rather than being refuted outright.

Until now. Welcome back to the rabbit hole.

How Fluorescent Lights Might Harm Us

Fluorescent bulbs work by sending an electrical current through mercury vapor, which then emits ultraviolet (UV) light. This UV light hits a phosphor coating on the inside of the bulb, creating visible light.

The major problem is that not all that UV stays inside the bulb.

Over time, the phosphor coating can degrade. Cracks and imperfections in the bulb allow low-level UV radiation to leak out, which isn’t enough to tan your skin, but just enough to sit with you, day after day, year after year, like an uninvited guest in your mitochondria.

Some studies suggest this chronic, cumulative exposure damages DNA, accelerates skin aging, suppresses the immune system, and, yes…may contribute to malignant melanoma

The Personal Wake-Up Call

I didn’t switch my lighting overnight (mostly because I thought the prices on Amazon were absurb).

It had started with noticing how I felt at work, which was actually better than I did at home. Work for me is full of giant floor to ceiling windows and more natural sunlight than I ever got before in my life. Then I started seeing stories. Hearing whispers of studies from decades ago. And finally, I found the 1982 research.

I read it three times, then I unscrewed every fluorescent bulb in my home. I also started using candles at night more, which I think helped my sleep cycle.

There’s something comforting about the soft, amber hue of an incandescent bulb. It doesn’t hum or flicker. It doesn’t bathe you in cold, blue fatigue.

Incandescents produce light by heating a metal filament until it glows. No UV radiation, no flickering, no vaporized mercury.

Are they less energy efficient? Sure.
But are they kinder to your biology? I believe so.

Now when I turn on a lamp, I feel like I’m inviting in some actual warmth, not warfare.

If you’re considering making the switch, I recommend this dimmable pack of incandescent Edison-style bulbs (I use these). They’re beautiful, safe, and make every room feel like a storybook.

Why Did We Bury the Science?

That 1982 study didn’t vanish by accident.

It’s expensive to rewire society, and it’s inconvenient to admit a technology we adopted en masse may have side effects.
And in the 80s, fluorescent lights were the future: cheap, bright, efficient.

So we ignored the risks and we normalized the flicker that messes with our skin and our brains.

In doing so, we lit our offices, hospitals, and schools with an experiment we never consented to.

Now melanoma is on the rise, and no one’s asking what’s overhead.

Instead, we blame the sun. We tell each other to buy more sunscreen (which is often full of chemicals bad for you) and avoid sunlight, even though sunlight for just 20 minutes a day has been linked to your body producing over 200 different helpful peptides!

Modern Science Has Picked Up the Trail

Since the original study, others have quietly reinforced the concern:

A 2012 study in Photochemistry and Photobiology found compact fluorescent lamps emit UVB and UVC radiation, particularly at close range.

Research from Stony Brook University found that certain CFLs cause skin cell damage under prolonged exposure.

The American Medical Association has warned about the health impacts of artificial light, particularly blue-rich LEDs and fluorescents, on circadian rhythm and cellular stress.

But still…silence.

And the hum continues on in our soft blue-glow above us.

If You’ve Already Been Exposed

You don’t need to panic, but you do need to pay attention.

Skin exams are crucial in life in general, so is watching for new moles, changes in shape, color, or border, and persistent irritation or sensitivity on exposed skin.

Melanoma can hide in plain sight, but it also speaks…if you know how to listen.

The Bigger Picture

This story made me question everything. What else have we normalized that harms us? What’s humming in the background of our lives, slowly altering our biology while we scroll and sip and forget to look up?

We live surrounded by conveniences with consequences, and the light overhead is only the beginning.

That’s why I write these things, to keep myself…and you…awake to the silent things.

Since switching to incandescent bulbs, I’ve noticed my migraines are rarer, I sleep more soundly, my mood stays more stable at night, and rooms feel more like home, and less like hospital wings.

And maybe most importantly is I don’t feel like I’m sitting under a sun I didn’t choose.

You Deserve Better Light

Light is not neutral.

It enters your eyes, your skin, your brain.
It tells your cells what time it is, and it whispers to your DNA.

Choose light that supports your biology and wraps you in gold instead of glare.

You deserve illumination, not intrusion in your life. Life is hard enough without adding a whole bunch of other issues into it.

And if something makes you feel tired, buzzy, or wrong…it might not be all in your head, so stop letting others gaslight you into thinking you’re crazy.

It might be in the bulb.