Post created by Katelyn
Have you ever found yourself staying up until early in the morning scrolling through your phone or on your laptop, then once you try to put your phone or computer away you still feel wide awake? That might be because of the blue light from your device. According to preventblindness.org, they state that, “Too much exposure to blue light late at night (through smart phones, tablets, and computers) can disturb the wake and sleep cycle, leading to problems sleeping and daytime tiredness.” With the new mandate to stay inside, my screen time has almost doubled per day compared to what it was before. With this increased exposure to blue light from our devices, it is good to know what affects it has on our bodies.
1. Like stated before, too much exposure to blue light can throw off your sleep cycle. Exposure to blue light makes you more alert and awake. This is because on the visible light spectrum, the blue rays have shorter wavelengths and more energy. So exposure to blue light right before you go to sleep will make it harder for you to fall asleep. One way to help with this could be to set your phone or device to switch to a warm tone light for late at night to early in the morning.
2. Too much exposure to blue light, or screens in general, can cause digital eye strain. It can be due to staring at the screen for a long period of time, or also how you are looking at the screen. It could also lead to dry eyes if you do not take breaks from the screen. A good way to prevent this could be to take breaks from looking at the screen every once in a while and look at something else. Another thing you can do to prevent eye strain could be to get blue light glasses that protect your eyes from the prolonged overexposure of blue light.
3. Early studies suggest that too much exposure to blue light could lead to retina damage. Since they are all early studies, scientists do not know for sure. But it is better to be cautious about it until scientists do find more information.
So with this extra time on our hands from quarantine and increased screen time, remember to give your eyes a break every once in a while from the blue light from our screens.