How Can I Reduce Harmful Effects of Blue Light on My Eyes?
Have you ever had trouble sleeping after spending a long time in front of your computer? Or, did you feel a burning sensation when you close your eyes? The basis of these and similar negativities is blue light which is emitted by computer screens. Blue light can cause many health problems, especially eye fatigue. For this reason, it is very important that you protect your eyes effectively against blue light. But, how? You can find the detailed answer of this question in the rest of our article.
Why Is It Important To Avoid Blue Light?
It is known that blue light which is emitted by devices such as computers, phones and tablets causes many negativities. Blue light does not only negatively affects eyes but can also trigger different emotional, physical and mental problems. The problems it triggers include sleep disturbance, diabetes, headaches, mood disorders and cancer.
High levels of blue light have many negative effects, especially for eyes. Eye fatigue comes first among these effects and this situation may occur temporarily or permanently. It should not be forgotten that it is likely to cause more serious vision problems than eye fatigue. Check out this article about what other fatigues that blue light causes.
Being exposed to blue light constantly during the day may disturb body’s general balance. Such a situation will affect sleep pattern first. Problems such as sleeping difficulties and inability to sleep may result in a serious decrease in life quality.
Unfortunately, blue light, of which effects are described here in general, has become a part of life. Nowadays computers, phones and tablets have become an indispensable part of work environments and houses. Especially, it is known that many employees have to look at their screens for 8 hours without interruption in a work environment. Looking at screens for a long time means high level of blue light exposure.[1]
Normally, it is known that human eye acts as a natural filter against some harmful lights. However, it is extremely clear that the natural protection of eyes will be insufficient against exposure for a long time to blue light during the day. For this reason, extra precautions should be taken and negative effects of blue light should be minimized.
Harms of Blue Light to Eyes
Approximately 20–30% of the light that is emitted by the sun consists of blue light. Level of this blue light coming from the sun decreases significantly, especially in the afternoon, and thus our body goes into night mode and is prepared for sleep. However, computer screens constantly emit 35% blue light and people are exposed to it until evening hours. This situation brings many risks to human health. Highlights of these risks and related explanations are as follows:
Sleep Disorders
The biological clock of human body is shaped according to light. Release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, stops with blue light, which is emitted by the sun, and thus the sun wakes us up in the first hours of a day. In the afternoon and towards evening, the rate of blue light decreases and our body is prepared for sleep. This perfect balance is disrupted by blue light emitted from computers, phones and tablets, which are integral parts of modern life.
It can be stated that people are exposed to blue light every hour of a day depending on the usage of devices such as phones, tablets and computers. If amount of blue light exposure is excessive, our body cannot prepare itself for sleep.[2] Thus, first sleep pattern and then biological clock of body are disrupted. This may cause different health problems related with metabolic rate, blood pressure and digestion over time.
Bipolar Disorders
Macular degeneration, which is an eye disease that is normally seen after 60s, is now seen at earlier ages, according to the researches. Blue light is shown as the main cause of this situation. Another result obtained in the same study is that blue light is also effective in bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is considered as an emotional disorder and it causes a decrease and deterioration in people’s emotions, energy and ability to complete social activities. Therefore, bipolar illness caused by blue light can seriously worsen people’s lives.
Emotional Disorders
Emotional disorders are directly related to circadian system and light. Researches conducted have revealed clear findings about the mentioned relationship. According to the American Psychiatric Association, some emotional disorders are caused by deterioration in sleep pattern and circadian system. Sleep disorder is one of the diagnostic criteria for many psychological disorders. Therefore, insomnia caused by blue light may result in different psychological problems after a while.
Harm to The Retina in the Eye
Exposure to blue light for a long time causes photochemical stress in which retinal cells in eyes will be adversely affected. Retina is one of the most important parts of eye. Neurons, also known as photoreceptors that detect light, are in this section. Mentioned neurons enable perceived light to be transmitted to brain. Retina, which can also be stated as a nerve layer, is protected by a layer of cells defined as the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).
The RPE layer carries molecules in and out of retina, thereby feeding nerve tissue of retina. This effect acts like double biological sunglasses that allow absorption of blue light. However, this mentioned effect is only effective against blue light from sunlight. It is insufficient against blue light which comes from a screen for a long time. Therefore, blue light emitted by screens has serious negative effects on retina.
Deterioration of Melatonin Release
All processes in human body occur through hormones. One of these mentioned hormones is melatonin. Melatonin is responsible for maintaining sleep patterns and has an anti-aging effect. Blue light affects the release of this hormone and causes irregularities in hormone level. Deterioration in melatonin level causes many negative changes, especially in sleep pattern. As a result of all these, different health problems may happen and serious decrease in life quality may occur.
How Can I Be Protected From Blue Light?
Blue light contains very serious risks for human health, especially for eyes. It is very important to protect yourself from these risks.[3] However, with simple precautions, you can easily get rid of blue light and its negative effects. These precautions are as follows:
Using a Screensaver
If you have to look at the computer screen all day for your job, you can use screensavers with blue light blocking feature. Moreover, you can add them to tablets and phones besides your computer and prevent blue light emitted by these devices. These screen protectors, which are extremely easy to add, do not change the display provided by your devices and do not affect their use. After a while, you will not even notice that there is a screen saver on your screen.
Some screensavers are made of tempered glass. These types of products not only block blue light but also protect the screens of your devices against breakage. Nowadays, you can easily access these types of blue light blocking screensavers on the internet and prevent blue light emitted by your screens significantly.
Benefiting From Eye Vitamins
As it is known, nowadays many people take additional vitamin supplements. Among these, there are also those for eye health. In this time when it is extremely difficult to avoid blue light, you may consider taking vitamins that protect eye health.
Among additional vitamins that are beneficial for eye health, there are those directly related to blue light. A product containing two pigments called zeaxanthin and lutein has recently been released. These mentioned pigments are effective in blue light absorption. Therefore, this product allows blue light to be absorbed before reaching eye macula. Thus, the relevant product not only protects eye health but also prevents eye fatigue.
There are different vitamins to be used for eye health. You can consult with your doctor and choose appropriate ones.
Activating Night Mode and Blue Light Filter
Steps are taken to effectively protect eye health in screen production with the development of technology more and more every day. Night mode feature in mobile phones we use is one of the most important examples of this. When you activate night mode on iOS and Android devices, blue light is directly blocked and it is prevented from harming your eyes.
Shortening the Time to Look at Your Screen
One of the most effective methods you can choose to avoid blue light is to shorten screen time. Yes, this is not easy to do. However, do not forget that it has a big importance to ensure eye health. At your workplace, you can turn off your screen when you have no work left to do on your computer. Apart from that, you can reduce the time of your phone and tablet usage for personal purposes. Thus, your eyes will be exposed to less blue light.
Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses
If you are using a computer, phone or tablet during the day due to your job or any other reason, the best solution for you is blue light blocking glasses. These glasses block blue light, as the name suggests. These glasses, which can be bought without a prescription, can also be worn over contact lenses.
You can protect your eye health and prevent eye fatigue by regularly using blue light blocking glasses.
