What is the Impact of Blue Light on Our Lives?
The effects of blue light exposure on our eyes and overall health have become a topic we hear about all the time. From advertisements for anti-blue light glasses to warnings about screen-induced insomnia, blue light has become a topic we hear more and more.
Since blue light exposure is now a major concern for many, we thought we'd take the opportunity in this article to share what you need to better understand blue light, as well as its impact on our lives.
What is Blue Light
Blue light is a color of light on the visible spectrum of light, ranging from red to blue, with wavelengths between 450 and 495 nanometers.
Each wavelength is represented by a different color and is grouped into the following categories: gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays (UV), visible light, infrared light and radio waves. All these wavelengths constitute the electromagnetic spectrum.
However, the human eye is only sensitive to one part of this spectrum: visible light. Visible light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is perceived as colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.
Compared to red light, blue light has shorter wavelengths and more concentrated energy.
Studies suggest that over the long term, exposure to the blue end of the light spectrum could cause serious damage to your eyes.
The Impact of Blue Light on Our Body
For thousands of years, our bodies have been accustomed to naturally receiving blue light from the sun. Sunlight contains all the colors of the visible spectrum, which gives what is called white light.
Nevertheless, for the past few decades, and especially following the appearance of screens, we suffer from an overexposure to blue light, an overexposure for which our eyes are rarely prepared or protected.
"The average amount of time adults spend on devices and in front of screens exceeds 11 hours per day, and as such, our eyes are under a lot of digital light pressure," said Dr. Sheri Rowen, ophthalmologist and member of Eyesafe Vision's health advisory board.
Blue light sends a message to your brain that it's time to wake up. This is not a problem during the day, but this signal to the brain can be destructive when it is dark and time to sleep.
Blue light is also known to block melatonin, a natural hormone that helps you fall asleep. That's why it's usually best to turn off any screens several hours before going to bed at night.
While too much blue light can cause eye problems, it's not all bad. Exposure to a little blue light is essential and helps improve your mood, energy levels and alertness.
Insufficient exposure to sunlight in children could lead to a recent increase in myopia risk.
However, too much exposure to blue/ultraviolet light can cause many eye complications as we age.
Age-related macular degeneration and cataracts are the most common.
If you want to know more about AMD, and the direct links to blue light, we have written an entire article on this specific topic.
How to Protect Yourself Effectively?
"Blue light blocking glasses are designed to help reduce the occurrence of digital eye strain and avoid disruption of the circadian rhythm cycle, which affects sleep and overall well-being," Rowen said.
Simply put, blue light glasses are glasses specifically designed to block or filter blue light.
They regulate the amount of light that reaches your eyes with a special filter that reflects some of the blue light away from your eyes. How much depends on the glasses you buy.
They are often a good solution for people who are not able to reduce their screen time.
Some blue light lenses have a yellow tint, while others are clear. In general, the lenses that look more yellow tend to filter out more blue light than their clearer counterparts.
However, it is important to remember that it is not necessarily helpful to block 100% of blue light because as mentioned above, our bodies need it for proper function.
The ideal balance for our eyes would be between 30% and 70% of blue light.
The various applications on the market, or already installed on our computers (Night Shift for example), are not a viable solution, especially in the long term.
The filtering rate is particularly low and the color change on our screens can be quite disturbing.
Many gamers or designers opt for anti blue light glasses with transparent lenses.
Even if the filtering rate is lower (~35%) than yellow or orange lenses (~65%), it is essential for some activities to be able to see the original colors, without distortions.
N°1 on the market of gamer glasses, we represent the best solution for your eyes thanks to our blue light blocking glasses with transparent or yellow lenses.
However, if you ever want to protect your eyes at a lower cost, or simply learn more about this topic, we have listed 7 techniques for taking care of your eyes that will undoubtedly help you!