The Dangers of Blue Light

Welcome back!

As many of you are probably on a phone, laptop, tablet, or iPad reading this blog post, let’s discuss an issue that many of you may have heard of but are not aware of the life-altering effects: the Impact of Blue Light on Our Sleep. Blue light is a color on the visible light spectrum that many can see with the naked eye. Its waves are short but emit large amounts of energy. While many of you may have heard of the well-known issues that stem from blue light exposure, blue light can actually be extremely beneficial during the daytime, boosting productivity, efficiency, and mood. However, these light waves can be largely disruptive during the nighttime.

The blue light that is emitted from our screens is artificial blue light which has harmful effects on the human body. Unlike natural blue light which helps regulate our body’s wake and sleep cycles through the circadian rhythm, artificial blue light is known to cause eye strain, headaches, physical and mental fatigue, retinal damage, and macular cellular damage. Along with these negative effects on our bodies, the impact it has on shifting our sleep cycles acts much like changing time zones and experiencing jet lag. By exposing our bodies to blue light before we fall asleep, it resets the circadian rhythm, causing the body to believe that it is daytime when it is actually nighttime. To combat these issues relating to blue light exposure and shifting circadian rhythms, it has become crucial to put down devices at least one hour prior to sleeping. We hope to see you in a future blog post where we will highlight the scientific explanation behind the shift in blue light and break some myths regarding blue light exposure.

In the meantime, we hope that you will write back to us about how much time you are spending on your devices and how it has impacted your lives positively or negatively.

Put those devices down,

Nan and Sri