Social media scrolling and swiping, watching TV, reading job reports On your laptop. It’s safe to say that most of us spend a significant time looking at screens. And this may be harmful to our eyes. Blurred vision, eyestrain, dry eye, macular degeneration, and cataracts have links to blue light from electronics. Some may have difficulty sleeping. Here’s what you should know.
What Is Blue Light?
It is one of the visible light spectrum’s colors. The others are:
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Indigo
- Violet
You may recognize them by the acronym ROY G BIV. Together, they produce the white light you see when the sun is the main source of blue light. It is also released from fluorescent and LED (light-emitting diode) light bulbs.
The wavelength and energy levels of each color in the visible light spectrum are different. Blue light has shorter wavelengths and is more energetic than other colors. Some studies have shown a correlation between eye damage and short-wave blue light with wavelengths ranging from 415 to 455 nanometers. LEDs in phones, TVs, and monitors emit light with wavelengths varying from 400 to 490 nanometers.
What produces blue light?
Like all visible colors, it is all around us. The sun emits it. Fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs also do so. Because of the widespread use of light-emitting diode (LED) technologies, humans look at more of it than ever before.
LED devices with high levels of blue light are used in computer and laptop computers, flat-screen televisions, mobile phones, and tablets.
Should you be worried about blue light?
Yes, you should be worried about blue light. This is because its exposure causes various problems, including eye damage and sleep problems. Others claim that it has an aging effect on the skin. But is it all bad?
1. Sleep
Blue light has advantages and plays an important role in the body by helping in the regulation of circadian rhythms, our internal body clock. This helps us to remain alert and active throughout the day, but we do not need to be so at night. This is where so much of it is problematic.
According to studies, blue light suppresses melatonin more than any other color of light. Melatonin is a natural hormone that acts on receptors in the body to make you sleepy. It’s helpful to understand that blue light is appropriate and necessary, and we need it. But, when it’s used inappropriately, it may disrupt our sleep-wake cycles.
It only takes a little bit of blue light in the evenings to disrupt melatonin production and thus disrupt our sleep. Televisions aren’t as bad because we tend to sit back in front of them. But device screens are at the kind of distance and brightness that will cause problems.
Our recommendation is to plan to turn off the blue light at 6 p.m. On most digital devices and phones, you can go into the ‘brightness’ setting and cut off the blue light. And you can schedule when that happens. You can do this on laptops as well. But keep in mind that your laptop is capable of emitting blue light.
2. Eyes
It can quickly reach the eyes due to the short wavelength and high energy level. And excessive exposure could damage the light-sensitive cells in the retina. This is one reason blue-light blocking glasses have become popular. However, although they are effective at decreasing the amount of blue light entering the eye and improving sleep, their role in preventing eye damage is unknown.
According to the most recent research, blue-light-blocking glasses do not improve vision performance or protect the eye. There is currently no evidence indicating that blue light causes eye strain. Eyes will feel strained if they are staring at screens all day. But this can be due to a variety of factors, including a shortage of breaks, if you have a meeting after meeting on a screen, or whether you are in a classroom and going from Zoom to Zoom to Zoom.
When you’re focusing for long periods, not blinking enough, and getting glare from other sources around you, whether it’s windows or lights, whether it’s making you squint, it will make you squint, and we know, both scientifically and factually, cause strain.
If you suffer from eye strain, follow the 20-20-20 rule as the quickest and most effective way to combat this. Take a 20-second break from your phone every 20 minutes to stare at something 20 feet apart. When you work up close to a screen, you work the eye much harder. When you focus 20 feet or six meters away, you relax the eye, and the eyes are now straight instead of being turned in. This is helpful.
3. Skin
Another issue of concern is what blue light does to our skin. ‘Zoom face’ became a pandemic phenomenon when we spent more time looking at ourselves on screens, leading us to become aware of ‘imperfections’ we had always ignored.
The fine lines, wrinkles, and skin discoloration that is now being highlighted on video conference calls may have been caused by blue light from our devices in the first place. And the trend towards ‘blue light beauty’ is growing as consumers seek products that can protect their skin.
Blue light, also known as High Energy Visible (HEV) light, is a visible light that, like UV light, causes skin aging by free radical damage. Blue light reaches further into the skin’s dermal layers. This causes direct damage to collagen and elastin structures, thereby weakening the skin’s structural support, leading to premature skin aging.
According to research, it also causes irregular pigmentation, which is another sign of aging. Finally, it disrupts our circadian cycle, confusing both our brains and skin cells and interfering with normal skin repair during sleep.
How to Protect Yourself from Blue Light?
You can do a few other things to help yourself, aside from limiting your screen time at night and taking frequent breaks during the day.
- Intraocular lens (IOL): An intraocular lens will replace the cloudy lens after cataract surgery (IOL). The lens naturally shields the eye from almost all ultraviolet and blue light. Many types of IOL can protect the eye and retina from blue light.
- You can use its filters on most computers, tablets, and phones. These filters decrease the amount emitted by our devices, reducing the amount that can reach our retinas.
- You are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of blue light if you have had eye surgery. If you have cataracts, the lens will be replaced by an intraocular lens (IOL) designed to protect the eyes from UV radiation and some blue light.
- When looking for a way to protect your eyes from extra light, anti-reflective glasses are another choice. This lens can help you look at a screen for longer periods by preventing light from reflecting off your glasses.
The Bottom Line
If you take the proper precautions, you won’t have to think about it harming your eyes. To keep your eyes safe, limit your screen time and wear protective eyewear.
