By Tony Barthel
We’ve all seen them – more and more RVs being manufactured are coming with ever-brighter exterior lights and, according to some studies, this is a problem. In fact, based on the results of some studies, it’s actually a rather significant issue.
There were several studies I looked at for this article, but my own empirical data is that I sleep better when it’s dark. It’s one of the reasons I like boondocking and camping in forests and other places where there isn’t a lot of light.
All about melatonin
One study summed it up as follows:
Darkness is essential to sleep. The absence of light sends a critical signal to the body that it is time to rest. Light exposure at the wrong times alters the body’s internal “sleep clock” – the biological mechanism that regulates sleep-wake cycles – in ways that interfere with both the quantity and quality of sleep. Melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland, is often known as the “sleep hormone” or the “darkness hormone.”
Melatonin influences sleep by sending a signal to the brain that it is time for rest. This signal helps initiate the body’s physiological preparations for sleep – muscles begin to relax, feelings of drowsiness increase, body temperature drops. Melatonin levels naturally rise during the early evening as darkness falls and continue to climb throughout most of the night, before peaking at approximately 3 a.m. Levels of melatonin then fall during the early morning and remain low during much of the day. Evening light exposure inhibits the naturally timed rise of melatonin, which delays the onset of the body’s transition to sleep and sleep itself.
You can find countless articles and studies to this effect. One such article appeared in the Washington Post, where they cited that people don’t necessarily need more sleep, they just need more darkness.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also cited that light absolutely affects one’s circadian clock in this article, which was shared by the CDC.
So what are the issues with lights?
I am seeing an ever-increasing number of RVs with fairly bright lights on them. That’s terrific until the point where you figure your fellow RVers are trying to sleep and those lights are not helping.
Furthermore, it seems there’s a new trend of laying out LED strips under RVs. Oftentimes these colorful lights might look cool, but they definitely brighten up a site and shed pretty significant amounts of light into the adjacent sites. What inspired me to write this was a very bright strip of LEDs under a motorhome in my neighboring campsite that were left on all night.
But plenty of travel trailers now are coming with lights that were originally designed to assist with hitching in the dark. I’ve seen many owners leave these on all night.
The practice seems to be ever more common and it’s part of the reason some campers are bemoaning all the newbies out there. It seems the experienced campers just don’t do this, or aren’t as likely to.
Campgrounds: It’s you, too
I can’t just blame my fellow campers. Some campgrounds, too, are bringing on the light. In fact, one of my favorite campgrounds has those high-pressure sodium lights all over the place. At one group campout I attended someone actually managed to find the source of power for the sodium light over their RV and, for some reason, it never worked the entire rest of the time they were camped there.
See. It’s not just me.
While a certain amount of light is probably a good idea, lights in campgrounds can be situated so that they don’t shine on or hover over RVs. In fact, the campground I’m staying at as I write this has fixtures that aim the light down and utilizes bulbs in those fixtures that aren’t very bright.
It’s actually pretty ideal as we are near a Dark Sky area. The light from the campground is not disturbing but still provides guidance. Well, until someone decides to lay out a strip of blue lights under their motorhome and leaves them on all night long…
And then I’m the d-bag for asking them to shut them off after dealing with it for a couple of days.
What can you do?
The body needs time to prepare for sleep. A sleep routine that includes a gradually darkening environment can help. Dim the lights a full hour before bedtime to encourage your body to begin its physiological progression toward sleep.
If you’re fortunate enough to have dimmable lights inside your RV, perhaps dim the lights a bit an hour before you go to bed.
Avoid screen time the hour before bed: Turn off the television, power down computers and tablets, and put your phone away for the night. The light from digital devices contains high concentrations of blue light, a wavelength of light that research has shown is especially detrimental to sleep.
Many RVs have thin folding shades like the ones in my own RV that do little to block incoming light. Perhaps consider replacing these with blackout shades. (Here are a bunch of options for RV blackout shades.)
If you’re in a pinch, you can take a black contractor’s garbage bag and cut it to the shape of your windows. Then simply wet the windows with water and the garbage bag will actually adhere to the window. When you’re ready to remove it, it’ll come right off.
An eye mask worn at night can help deepen darkness and protect against intrusive light. Choose a mask that is soft, comfortable, and flexible. Wearing an eye mask can take a little getting used to, but it is a highly effective tool for limiting your light exposure at night.
Being aware of light’s effects on the body will lead you to pay more attention to the light that surrounds you, both day and night. Taking a little time to ensure a dark sleeping environment is one easy and important way to protect and improve your nightly rest.
##RVT1158
Well said. Now if everyone would be Happy Campers and shut those lights off when retiring for the evening, we all would wake up well rested and less grumpy!
The people who think closing their shades to diminish the lights are the same people who don’t care about their neighbors that like to sit outside at night to view the stars at night, There is An RV PARK on the OREGON COAST AT Seal Rocks that has gone dark except for the low shine down park lights so if you like the dark sky approach this place is heaven
If your neighbor is too noisy during quiet hours (noise pollution), you have every right to take it to park management. In the same vein, you should have the right to have park management address your neighbor causing a light pollution issue.
Interestingly, Nanci Dixon posted an article this past Tuesday giving a reason (or excuse) explaining why people light up their camp sites. It supposedly helps keep rats and other vermin away from your RV during the night. So it seems we either have happy camping neighbors and (theoretically) invite various rodents, or keep the rodents away and have pissed-off neighbors. Hmmmmmm.
We were volunteering at a State park in Northern Arizona last yest and suddenly our tig was attacked by Rats. We tried everything that was listed in all the articles about rat and mouse deterrents. Nothing worked.
We ordered a set of led lights and placed them under the rig and the rats stopped.
Lights under your rig is the best deterrent and the only thing that works.
I’ll take the lights over barking dogs. At least I can pull the shades down and put on a sleep mask to compensate for the light! The precious little “fur babies” are not necessarily your fellow camper’s same delight!
I agree totally. I use blackout shades and never noticed the lights until all the fuss. Dogs are more of a problem as are the ‘partiers’ with piercing shrill laughs that carry on until wee hours and shout obscenities when asked to keep it down.
See my comment above. We are going to have more and more rules because of lights, barking dogs, stereo etc.
Yes, I have dogs and cats. Wouldn’t think of letting them sit out and bark. Just common sense.
Barking dogs, “pet” peeve. (RV sold earlier this week). Just will not go camp and be annoyed by these things. Done with it.
I find this an interesting discussion however.
I’ve never had an issue with a neighbor’s lights. I sleep with the shades drawn and wouldn’t notice if their rig was lit up like an airport runway.
Some of us like to have the windows open for fresh air and the shade raised a little so the air will flow. But no the neighbor thinks he’s cool leaving his bright LED lights on all night.
I have to second that!
Why do people, especially in Five’rs need to keep the bright nose lights on all night? Everyone knows they are there, no need to advertise it all night. It doesn’t bother them since it’s in the front.
The only light we have on is a small motion activated one to light up the steps if we need to go out at night.
I understand the complaints of RV lights. We use the rope lights around our RV. We purposely chose blue to be a less bright. Why do we use them? When we stay in places within city limits it helps deter crime and rodents. We have had neighbors with spotlights. We keep the blinds closed on that side no big deal. I find the people who complain about the lights also complain about everything from kids playing too loud to someone having a campfire after 9pm
Oh, how absolutely true. I can’t fathom how some blue rope lights on the ground really affect your sleep. Yeah, criticize all you want but you’re being so nitpicky and simply boring. You complain about kids glued down on their cell phones or tablets then whine when they are playing outside. Guess you all forgot what it was like to be a kid back in the day, lol! Maybe if you all quit worrying so much about this and that, you might just fall asleep better and faster. Like a “don’t worry, be happy” kind of thing.
Light has no real effect on rodents other then the human kind. And blue light is the worst color of light to use IMO. Why not try installing some motion detectors that has a greater effect on the human rodents then steady lights and also will alert your neighbors to someting moving around your campsite.
Many campgrounds are in dark skies locations and offer the opportunity to get a great view of the stars and constellations. With all this light emanating from the campground, it ruins the night skies experience for star watchers. Campgrounds could fix this problem by implementing a ‘lights out’ policy at a reasonable hour.
It is rude, inconsiderate, selfish and lack of respect to have lights on after 10 pm. It all about me, me, me.
Thanks for this article. It’s about time. The lights that are appearing on 5th wheels are so bright they can light up an entire area of the rv park. There must be a way to turn these off at 10 or 11. That would help. The people who wrap trees in lights and have more lights than at Christmas are another story!
Saw a set of three 5ers that not only had string lights all over, but also all their running and tails lights rigged to constantly flash. The group never turned any of them off, day or night. Looked like an accident scene along a highway!
And for those who think it’s just young folks or newbies, think again.
The idea of the bright lights under a motor coach started with a theory that they keep rodents from going under and chewing wiring. Now they are seemingly everywhere.
We go out of our way to make sure lights are not left on all night, with the exception of a solar light to mark our site’s entrance. We put dim colored LED lights on the steps with a timer to shut them down around bedtime and for later outings have a couple short duration downward pointing LED motion detection lights – one at the hitch to protect shins, another at the door to both see steps and the door lock.
Does anyone have a reference for a study confirming that lighting your rig at night deters rodents? The only situation I have first hand experience with is a neighbor’s truck whose wiring was chewed while regularly parked under the street lamp. No other vehicles nearby, parked in the darker areas, have been bothered.
Judith, on the YouTube channel Mousetrapmondays, tests have shown that rodents could care less if there are lights or not. In one test, strip lights were in a bright pile and mice crawled all over them. Pretty clear evidence lights do not dissuade rodents.
While this Youtube channel’s tests disprove almost all the gimmicks and gadgets, occassionally a test shows something that might help, but never 100%.
Look at Mousetrap Monday on Youtube.
Contrary to popular belief, simply leaving the lights on in your home or property may not be enough to deter rats. While bright lights can make rats feel more exposed and uncomfortable, they can quickly adapt to the presence of light if it doesn’t pose an immediate threat or disturbance to their surroundings.
I’m 70. Family had a fairly large dairy and crop operation in Michigan. Only thing that stopped mice was traps and cats.
Never left poison because I was careful that the cats or other animals would get into it. That’s my experience. Lights and anything else was ignored by farm mice and rats.
Are the lightsters rude or scared? I think some of this light show is the “look at me and what I have” sort of like the big truck big …. well you know. If I were so afraid I had to leave lights on all night I would find someplace else to camp. Think about this you provide the night at light for the bad guy to scope out your site without being noticed and be in and out in just a few seconds. Lastly I don’t believe that the lights have any effect on rodents, at my ranch shop I have tried lights on lights off radio on and such with no effect in number of mice in traps. I have not tried the sonic bearer. The above is JMHO I tend to camp away form campgrounds.
One problem with this article.
The only ones that read it are the older members, the new generation doesn’t read or doesn’t care how we feel about their lights. It’s all for show.
Thank you, Tony! 🙂 I turn on the awning lights when we have people to the RV. They usually leave by 9 or 9:30 PM and we put things away before extinguishing the light. If we’ve no visitors (typically the case), then we usually walk the dog one last time around 8 PM and I leave the porchlight “on” during that. I also turn it on later, usually around midnight, when I take the dog out one last time before I go to bed. We have no need to use any of the under-slide lighting during the night. Our blackout shades are effective in keeping the bedroom dark regardless of how much light our neighbors’ rigs may be displaying. Thanks again and safe travels! 🙂
If I were so bothered by lights in a “campground”/RV Park, I wouldn’t be there.
We camp to get away from city lights. The entire trend of lighting everything up is stupid and all about ego. No one cares about your rig, we all have our own. You’re not impressing anyone.
Maybe in the western states one has to worry about packrats, just open the hood of your truck. I saw this all the time in desert campgrounds.
And if you’re worried about crime, maybe just stay home. Honestly, people are so paranoid these days.
Sounds like something the campground needs to inform people about. They are the first line of defense in educating people about the impact they may have on others. As part of their welcome package/rules they can easily mention that lights at night should not be intrusive to other campers. What do Dark Sky areas do? Then they can’t use the ignorance excuse. And why do all those people camp where there are rats around? Or is this an urban camping issue? What do the homeless RVers do?
I’m not sure the time frame you grew up in Margaret but camping with my family 9 PM was to bed and sleep for kids while the adults set outside talking and on top there were only Coleman lanterns burning and when they (the adults) turned in all lights out. I understand motion sensors lights as a warning system but again you will probably never know they went off while asleep. Like a previous comment on human rats lights out steel cable fed around items outside sure makes a racket when tripping over.
A polite request to turn off lights at night will go a long way. If you’re in your rv, you may not realize how awful the light is to other campers – not an excuse though. Newbies especially may not understand how to be considerate – I’ve seen older folks as well as young people do this.
Being aware that you aren’t the only person on the planet also doesn’t take much effort…..
You are assuming there is some cognition in the offending party. Remember, he or she paid for the site and that person will do whatever he or she wants…screw the rest of the people. If the offended party doesn’t like it, shove off is usually the response
I have had really good results (& maybe a pout or 2) when I nicely explain that the bright lights on your camper light up my entire site… could you -please- turn them off when you go in for the night? Usually talk to campground host first so they know what is up before I approach the offender. So far, so good….
If I leave my lights on, it’s for security. Some parks appear to have more risk than others. Criminals tend to shy away from lit areas.
The only camper lights I have a problem with are the bright LED “V” shaped lights seen on many 5th wheels and TT. These lights are just so bright and other than perhaps some security, I think the only purpose of them is “Hey, look at my rig”. As far as the underneath light goes, many campers put them out as a deterrent to critters lurking around during the overnight hours. For me, I have no problem with these lights, at least they serve an understandable purpose. You have to cut these campers some slack all the way around, everybody has different tastes and objectives why they go camping and what they enjoy.
Tony, you are not alone. I hate it when people leave their lights on all night long that blare into my trailer. Turn them off when you go to bed! I’ve had critters invade because I accidentally left food or trash out. I grabbed it and brought it in, problem solved. Additionally, I’ve never heard of any home invasion of an RV happening at a campground. Leaving the lights on is just inconsiderate.
The brighter the lights = the lower the IQ.
That’s an indisputable Law of Nature.
Same for outdoor speakers and televisions.
Its another reason that so many people are leaving RVing.
Absolutely. Well said. In fact I just completed the sale of my RV. Good luck to others. I don’t have much hope that it will revert back to silence and listening to nature. Something has happened to our society and I don’t think it’s reversible.
One of my personal pet peeves and not something I will put up with.
I wish they would still put a single porch light on RV’s instead of the awning LED strip. On my Outdoors EV 25RDS they put a LED slightly above the battery tray. Useless, should have been by the rear door.
I don’t like RVs that look like Christmas Trees. I even put Christmas decorations on a timer so they aren’t on all night. Some people think those rope lights under the RV keep rodents away, I doubt that is true because we’ve never had them and never had rodents except once when we were parked with brush in contact with the underside of the RV. I think too many lights or lights on all night are distracting and a waste of electicity.
Outside lights, TVs, and speakers really decrease the value of my camping experience. Please stop!
Personally, I never could see why anyone would like to light up a RV as if it was the Best Little [bleeped] House in Texas. And not only because I find all that light annoying.
But until the campgrounds start charging a fee for excessive consumption of electricity, or the campgrounds start banning search lights, I suppose we have to just deal with it.
Rodent such as mice and packrats are nocturnal just like their owl predators. To survive, they rely on the cover of darkness as they forage. Lighting up the underbelly of your RV discourages their encroachment and infestation. Vermin preference to avoid lighted areas is not mere theory, it’s a proven reality of why they’re nocturnal.
Folks that understand nature aren’t lighting up their rig’s belly because they’re jerks, they’re doing it to protect the very nature they’re out trying to enjoy. Lights are not foolproof but they’re far more humane than bait and a mousetrap.
TLDR: Darkening your site is far more of a courtesy to the mice than your neighbor.
It doesn’t take much light to discourage the packrats. Friday Light Nights are not needed to do the job. We had a set of solar string lights from Harbor Freight. They weren’t too bright and seemed to keep the critters away.
I agree Shannon. All you need to do is make it brighter than a full moon or basically bright enough to see across.
The goal is to (humanely) discourage the furry locals from foraging in your RV, not to detect paint blemishes with 150,000 lumen halogens….
Safe travels!
Disagree with this logic completely. It does show another point of view however.
If we wanted a Las Vegas sensory overload experience, we’d go to Vegas. We go camping to escape excessive noise and light. Most of the time, I don’t want light beyond that from my campfire. I want to see the stars. We too have noted so many of the later model RVs that are eternally lit in an unnecessary “look at me!” fashion, and their owners who feel the need to have those lights on all night, especially on the front caps of 5th wheels that serve no other practical purpose than ego. Stop it!
Is it really newbies? When I started the only outside light was a Coleman lantern. My RV did not have outside lights. Now the manufactures put the lights on, therefore the newbies think they are there to be used, I’ll bet that when shopping for an RV that newbies never say I want this one because it has more outside lights. It’s the manufacturers’ fault; they are trying to advertise their rigs even at night. They have a billboard mentality. If not installed on the rig, I doubt many would haul around Christmas lights to set up every time they stopped. Face it, it is all the fault of the guy that invented LED rope lights. Newbies are doing what they’re told and have never seen stars anyway.
We do sometime have our lites on super early. We tournament fish. So Install foil eye brows over our security lites to direct the light down and low. To not disturb our fellow non fishing campers.
Safe travels.
For years when I put out lights they are on a timer set for no more then 2 hours.
It’s not just rv parks. Cheap Chinese led lights are everywhere in most residential neighborhood’s unless prohibited by “light trespass” laws or HOA rules. These include replacement lights used outside in place of soft white style incandescent lighting. Like in front of your garage. My neighbors across the street put LED replacement bulbs in their house front lights. They glare through my front windows much more harsh and bright than before.
The reason there are so many rules anymore for everything is because people don’t think to police themselves. I don’t think asking others to turn off their lights will work, or to turn down their outside tv or stereo. Those days are mostly gone.
I agree on all the bright lights whether in an RV park or on an RV. But one time we had our cap light on, it was still a little light and the guy next to us rudely came over and said “you aren’t going to leave those on all night are you I am trying to sleep and I don’t need your lights keeping me up”. Now, one it was only about 7pm and two, he could have been nicer. We are seasoned RVer’s and believe me, we walk outside before we go in and make sure all lights are off and not disturbing people. I am sure he had some guy at some time leave their lights on all night, but maybe being a little kinder to fellow RVer’s would have made for better neighbors… just saying.
Excellent point, Corey. Thank you. Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
If your lights shine on your neighbor’s site
they are too bright to leave on all night ….
Please turn them off when you head in for the night…. no biggie & thank you!
OK to have a motion detector light or 2 pointed towards your own camper window outside as the entire point is to alert you to intruders so you wake up and deal with it.
Will continue to beg the state parks to make it dark sky time when it is quiet time. Love a starry night & state & national parks are designed to appreciate nature around us. Last dark sky SP had red lights only allowed after dark. Was a FANTASTIC park to stay at…. and the stars!!!!
I can’t see the problem with the pale blue lights under the trailer. When we leave the trailer after dark we often leave them on so we can see the steps when we get back. We also turn them on when we walk the dogs at night, turning off before bed. It’s late sometimes. Sometimes lights from the park or highways shine in so I simply pull the shades down.
I don’t see how leaving your outside lights on your RV to go out and walk your dogs can help you once you are out of your site. Flashlights or headlamps are the best option as they light up the area you walk. Be considerate of your fellow campers and just leave them off. Or better yet, stay home if you like to light up the night sky.