What is blue light and how it is affecting you?

Everything you need to know about blue light (Energy, Strengths, Colors, and Wavelengths)

Electromagnetic particles that travel in waves make up light. These energy-emitting waves come in a variety of lengths and strengths. The higher the energy, the shorter the wavelength. Blue light has a wavelength of 380 - 500 nm. Wavelength is measured in nanometers (nm), where 1 nanometer equals one-billionth of a meter. Each wavelength is represented by another color and is classified as gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet (UV) rays, visible light, infrared light, or radio waves. The electromagnetic spectrum is made up of all of these wavelengths combined.

On the other hand, the human eye is only sensitive to one part of this spectrum: visible light. Indigo, violet, green, blue, red, orange and yellow are examples of visible light from the electromagnetic spectrum. Because blue light has a small wavelength, it produces a lot of energy. According to studies, exposure to the blue end of the light spectrum may cause substantial long-term harm to your eyes.

Sources of blue light

o   Sunlight

o   Fluorescent lights

o   LED lighting

o   Digital devices (smartphones, tablets, tv screens)

Anti Blue light glasses are made to filter out the hazardous blue-violet light rays emitted by digital screens. 

Natural blue light is very important for your health and you need to get enough exposure to natural blue light every day. However artificial blue light is not good for your eyes. In fact, artificial blue light damages your eyes and can cause various problems such as headaches, dry eyes, and red eyes. Blue light with a wavelength of 400-460 nm will do harm to your eyes while blue light in 470-500 nm will do a lot less. Artificial blue light cannot be avoided entirely but can be reduced by wearing anti-blue light glasses, spending less time on your digital devices, or changing the screen brightness settings on your device.

Benefits of blue light

• Improve general mood and ease depression We can improve our alertness and energy levels during the day by exposing ourselves to blue light for at least an hour in the morning, especially from sunlight. In addition, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a kind of depression, responds well to blue light therapy. Blue light is great for improving your mood and easing your depression!
• People who live in the far northern and southern latitudes, when daylight hours are short during these months, are more likely to develop SAD in the fall and winter months. In addition, it has been discovered that an hour of morning exposure to blue-light-emitting lamps suppresses melatonin levels and improves SAD depression symptoms.

Contribute to healthy eye development in children

• Blue light isn't always a bad thing. Natural blue light contributes to healthy eye development in children when they get enough daily exposure to the sun. Natural blue light in the morning will help them to boost their mental attention and mood. They must, however, be shielded from as much artificial blue light as possible. 
•  Improve memory and core cognitive functions. According to a study, they discovered that thirty minutes of blue wavelength light exposure in the morning led to faster response times on a cognitive working memory task and more robust functional brain responses. This is the first study to show that a single, brief exposure to blue light during the day can result in long-term changes in brain activation and performance during the completion of a task. While these findings may have significant consequences for the use of blue light in occupational settings, more research is needed to see if they apply to real situations.

Hazards of blue light

Cause eye fatigue

According to a study done, because of the short wavelength of blue light, the focus is not in the middle of the retina but instead towards the front. The electroretinogram' s a, and b amplitudes dropped following exposure to blue light. In addition, Microglia cells relocated to the phagocytic segment of the outer nuclear layer after being activated, as shown under the electron microscope. This causes eye fatigue. Contest Code: LIVHO2

Eye Strain signs and symptoms include:

• dry eyes
• red eyes
• headache
• blurry vision
• eye fatigue

Aggravate macular diseases

There's evidence that blue light can cause long-term eyesight problems. This is because almost all blue light travels straight through your retina to the back. According to certain studies, blue light may raise the risk of macular degeneration, a retinal disease.

According to research, blue light exposure has been linked to age-related macular degeneration or AMD. According to one study, blue light causes harmful chemicals to be released in photoreceptor cells. This damages the retina, which can lead to AMD.

Disturb sleep cycle

Blue light is difficult to block with your eyes. As a result, almost all of it passes straight through to the back of your retina, which aids in converting light into images in your brain. Exposure to all colors of light aids in the regulation of your circadian rhythm or natural sleep-wake cycle. However, more than any other color, blue light disrupts your body's ability to prepare for sleep by blocking melatonin, a hormone that makes you drowsy. 

Lead to myopia worsening

Once you understand what causes myopia, it might be simple to prevent it from worsening. Blue light is one of the biggest causes of myopia. Images are projected on the front of the retina rather than directly onto the retina due to this minor distortion. People that struggle with myopia are likely to see objects clearly up close but struggle to see those that are far away, less blue light exposure can help slow down the damage.

Although most persons with myopia use glasses or contact lenses, this does not prevent myopia from getting worse. Instead, they alleviate myopia' s symptoms.

Lead to fundus damage after cataract surgery

Because of increased transmission of short-wavelength light, chronic exposure to blue-violet light, among other factors, may contribute to retinal illnesses such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or speed-up AMD progression following cataract surgery.

Tips to Minimise Exposure to Blue Light

• Spend less time with digital devices. Reduce the amount of time you spend in front of the screen. Taking regular breaks from computer or television screens allows your eyes to rest and reduces your exposure to blue light. For example, look away from your screen for 20 minutes and focus on an object 20 feet away. Do this for a minimum of 20 seconds.

• Wear blue-light-blocking glasses.Anti blue light glasses are available to help block the artificial blue light from electronic devices. The yellow-tinted lenses boost screen contrast while blocking blue light and reducing digital eye strain.

• Change the light settings on your device. Most smartphones have blue light or night settings available, which can help reduce eye strain at night. 

• Take a break from blue light at night. Taking a break from digital devices at night and avoiding blue light can help you sleep much better. Good sleep is essential for your general health and for you to perform each day optimally.

Summary

Blue light is all around us and is not something we can avoid entirely, but we can reduce it if we take the necessary precautions. Too much of a good thing is also bad and the same goes for blue light. Getting the right amount of blue light is important for our health but too much blue light exposure can be harmful to your eyes and health. We can reduce the amount of blue light we take in every day by spending less time on our digital devices, wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, and changing the light settings on our devices.