How does blue light affect the brain?
What is your typical routine before sleeping? For most of us, it is burying our noses on our phone screens. Some of us does not know that the blue light (blue light affect) that is emitted by our phones, and other electronics pose harm to our health.
The dark side of blue light
Have you noticed that your sleeping pattern is actually affected by your mobile phone habit? Well, this is because, as researchers and studies show that blue light affects our circadian rhythm. Our biological clock is thrown off of its pattern when we spend too much time staring at our screen or basking under the blue light. Inconsistent sleep patterns can result in lack of sleep which then eventually contributes to lots of diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and even cancer.
Blue Light during the day
The blue wavelengths are not at all times harmful, as different light colors may have different effects. Blue light actually boosts attention, mood and reaction. What’s worrying is the increase of blue light exposure when the sun is down.
Sleep and blue light
Sleep pattern may be different for everyone. However, the average length is 24 and a quarter hours. If you stay up late at night, chances are your rhythm is longer. While if you wake up early your rhythm is shorter. What keeps our rhythm aligned with our environment is the daylight.
The blue light and your health
Night time light may cause health risks. There are studies that showed working at night is connected with factors that cause cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. But what exactly is the effect of blue light on our health? Exposure to this type of light prevents secretion of melatonin which is also a hormone that is related to our circadian rhythm. Low levels of melatonin are shown to be possibly connected to the occurrence of cancer.
How to prevent harmful effects of blue light
- Try not to look at bright screens two to three hours before you go to sleep.
- When working at night, consider using blue light blocking eyeglasses. There are also applications that lessen harmful light at night. For example, Iris Tech (https://iristech.co) has developed a software which adjusts the brightness of your screen to your surroundings to prevent eye strain and improve sleep. This software promises to protect your skin while keeping you more productive even at night. It can be downloaded for a free trial and be purchased for additional protection.
- Boost your sleeping habit by getting your eyes exposed on a lot of bright lights during the day. This will help you sleep easier at night.
Looking at your phone at night may be hard to avoid, for some it is part of the work, but there are definitely ways to prevent blue light from causing harm to your health. Pay attention to your mobile phone habits. Be aware of the light types that your electronics emit. Remember that sometimes the light is not good all the time.
