THE UK’S smallest city comes out on top as the ultimate location for celestial lovers to stargaze with a visibility score of 74.4 out of 100.
As part of Dark Sky Week, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, has beaten every other UK city to the top spot of ultimate stargazing location.
St Davids has a Borte Scale classification of three, the scale runs from one (darkest sky, best to stargaze) up to nine (worst for stargazing).
Out of 82 cities analysed, St Davids scored the lowest level of light pollution making it the ultimate dark sky location to view the stars.
Residents in St Davids may also have better sleep patterns than those in other UK cities based on the low level of light pollution.
James Roy, brain health expert from Brainworks Neurotherapy, comments on the impact of light pollution and not seeing stars regularly, he said: “As humans, we are biologically inclined to be awake during the day and asleep at night. Daylight is the natural regulator of our circadian rhythms, so the more light we introduce into our nighttime skies, the harder it is for our bodies to determine what time it actually is.
“Even low levels of artificial light intensity at night have been found to suppress melatonin production, our sleep hormone which induces drowsiness, making it harder for us to fall asleep. This can lead to insomnia which will cause tiredness, fatigue and poor mental health.
“On a brain level, the ‘out of sync’ daylight hours and sleep disruption weaken the power of our all-important frontal lobes. A weakening of our frontal brain activity impairs memory, decision making and our ability to regulate our emotional reactions.”
