Introduction of technology
There are improved facts about blue light, in our everyday lives, another concern about our health was raised.
Precisely – blue light.
But as with everything that is new and unexplored yet, conspiracy theories start to lurk around every corner.
However, we are here to help you learn the myths and the truths about blue light!
Blue light is a range of the visible light spectrum with wavelengths 400-450 nm, which makes it a type of high-energy visible light.
Where does the problem come from then and what should you know about blue light?
We are diving right into it!
Myths and truths
We have collected some of the most important facts about blue light that you should be familiar with in order to deal with it in the right way.
Blue light is not natural – MYTH
The main source of blue light is actually… the sun itself!
Sunlight contains red, orange, yellow, green and blue rays and a lot of shades of these colors.
What is more interesting, blue light is the reason why we see the sky blue.
Walking outside during the day, you are exposed to blue light.
In fact, a certain number of daylight hours can be absorbed by the human body.
It becomes a problem when we introduce blue light at night as well – this way we disrupt our biological clock which can lead to health problems (including poor sleep, poor eye health, etc.).
Our eyes can’t block blue light – TRUTH
Our eyes can successfully block UV rays from reaching the retina.
It is proven that less than 1 percent of UV radiation from the sun reaches the retina, even if you have not put your sunglasses on.
Nevertheless, it is advisable to always wear sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection since they are essential for eye health!
In contrary though, blue light can penetrate the inner structure of our eyes.
According to studies almost 100 percent of the blue light that we are exposed to, reaches our retina.
All blue light is harmful – MYTH
You may be confused by this one but it is actually true that not all blue light is harmful.
Thanks to blue light, our bodies know when we should be awake (throughout the day) and when we should go to sleep (after the night falls).
Therefore we are messing up with our circadian rhythm if we are exposed to blue light in the evening.
Try reading a paper book before bed instead of your e-reader and switch off your devices at least an hour before sleep.
Yet, some studies have shown that certain types of blue light can have a positive impact on our bodies.
High-energy visible light boosts vigilance, helps memory and cognitive function and improves mood.
A light therapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is a type of depression related to changes in seasons.
With the right amount of blue light, the symptoms of SAD can be alleviated.
Blue light contributes to digital eye strain – TRUTH
It’s been made clear that not all blue light is bad for you but too much of it can really be.
Especially for your eyes.
They can not block the blue light, therefore they become irritated when we expose them to it for a long period of time.
The symptoms may include red, dry or sore eyes, as well as headaches and blurred vision.
However, digital eye strain can be prevented with a number of precautions – you can check them out in one of our previous articles!
Lowering the brightness of your device is enough – MYTH
Been there, done that.
In fact, the low brightness of the screen is not a safeguard!
It actually has a very small impact since apart from blue light there are a lot of other things that are harmful to your eyes.
Such are flickering, small fonts and so on.
Blue light can cause macular degeneration – TRUTH
Macular degeneration is the condition which causes deterioration of the macula
Macula – the small central area of the retina, controlling the visual acuity.
The ability to complete any visual task requiring us to see detail depends on the health of the macula – reading, recognizing faces, driving, watching TV, using the computer, etc.
Unfortunately, macular degeneration can lead to permanent sight loss.
Blue light is related to macular degeneration because our eyes can not block the blue light and it penetrates all the way to the inner of the eye.
Consequently too much blue light can cause damage to the light-sensitive cells in the retina.
However, more research is needed in order to define how much is too much and the potential long-term effects of constant digital eye strain.
How to reduce the blue light exposure?
If you are a bit concerned about your health after going through the myths and truths about blue light, we are happy to inform you that you can successfully reduce your blue light exposure!
You can do that by using software like ours – Iris will reduce the blue light emitted from your computer or laptop screen.
It has a few different modes and detects automatically whether it is day or night.
Thereupon Iris will change the color temperature and the brightness of your screen.
This way you will be able to use your device for longer without having a tired eye afterward.
Take a break
Yet, it is recommended to take a break from the screen every once in a while
The aim is to move around every hour for at least 5 minutes or simply follow the 20-20-20 rule:
Every 20 minutes look at an object 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds.
Conclusion
Blue light is naturally emitted by the sun and is needed by our bodies in order to regulate our biological clocks.
Too much of it though may cause worse sleep quality, eye strain and other health problems.
However, blue light therapy is used to treat people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – it improves their sleep patterns and elevates mood.
Download Iris
In our everyday lives, we can deal with excessive blue light exposure by downloading software like Iris.
It reduces the blue light emitted from the screen or by minimizing the time spent in front of a device in the evenings.
Author: Ilina Stoyanova
