The World of Blue Light and How it Affects us

Blue Light: How It Affects Eye Health and Ways to Protect Yourself

What Is Blue Light and Where Does It Come From?

Blue light is a type of visible light with a short wavelength and high energy, found naturally in sunlight but also emitted from artificial sources like LED lights, digital screens (phones, computers, TVs), and fluorescent bulbs. While blue light helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle, overexposure—especially from screens—has raised concerns.

How Blue Light Affects the Eyes

Blue light is known to penetrate deep into the eye, particularly affecting the retina and possibly leading to oxidative stress. This stress can damage photoreceptor cells, which are crucial for converting light into signals that the brain interprets as visual information. The cumulative damage over time may contribute to macular degeneration—a condition where central vision deteriorates, impacting tasks like reading or recognizing faces.

1. Digital Eye Strain: Prolonged screen exposure can lead to discomfort, dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches.
2. Retinal Damage: Research suggests that blue light may contribute to retinal cell damage, potentially increasing the risk of macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in older adults.
3. Sleep Disruption: Blue light exposure, particularly before bed, can interfere with the body’s natural sleep cycle by suppressing melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep and reducing sleep quality.

Sources of Blue Light and Increased Risks

While the sun is the largest source of blue light, the shift toward LED and digital screen use has made artificial blue light exposure more pervasive. LED lights are commonly used in screens, phones, and home lighting, creating an environment where exposure is often prolonged and close-range. Because blue light scatters more easily, it can increase glare and reduce contrast, causing eye strain, especially in low-light settings. 

In our newly developed digital age, our world is often surrounded by the LED screens and we often use them late into the night. This could be a large secret source of insomnia for many people.

Long-Term Risks

Continuous exposure to high-energy blue light could elevate the risk of long-term eye conditions. Although more research is needed, blue light's role in accelerating age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains a significant concern, as this condition leads to progressive vision loss and is irreversible.

In addition to increasing the risk of macular degeneration, blue light exposure is linked to heightened risks for cataract development. Studies suggest that oxidative stress from blue light could potentially speed up the clouding of the eye’s lens, leading to vision impairment over time.

Sleep Disruption

The sun is our largest source of blue light, in comparison, our phones don’t put off that much. However, the problem is the consistency of screen time, particularly late into the evening. When the sun is gone, it’s better to have other blue light sources gone as well. Our circadian rhythm is responsive to blue light. The more exposure to blue light causes disruption in the release of melatonin, our natural sleep chemicals. 

So although screens give off only small amounts of blue light, its disruption causes large impacts on our health and wellbeing. In fact, the disruption of our circadian rhythm has been linked to heart disease, cancer, cognitive dysfunctioning, sleep disorders, and type 2 diabetes.

Comprehensive Preventive Measures

Protecting the eyes from blue light involves both behavioral changes and protective tools:

1. Glasses: Blue light-blocking glasses can help reduce exposure, especially if you spend prolonged hours on devices. Here are some for purchase. It’s important to note, wearing blue light glasses all of the time can have negative effects as well. For one the bend in the lens can have a similar effect on a person that puts someone else's glasses on, which is also damaging to the eyes. Second, if you wear them all the time a similar problem arises when you don’t get enough blue light in the eyes to regulate sleep cycles. Just something to keep in mind.
2. Screen Filters: This is a great way to reduce blue light from digital devices and should not negatively impact your natural blue light intake nor cause strain on the eyes by looking through a lens. This is one of the best options, here is a link to stick on blue light screen filters. Here is another option for a hanging blue light filter (less permanent solution that is transferable to other computers)
3. Follow the 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away to reduce digital eye strain. We have more in depth eye exercises in our “Eye Health Improvement” Article. 
4. Adjust Device Settings: Enable night mode or blue light reduction settings on devices to lower blue light exposure, particularly in the evening. Most devices have automatic settings to turn blue light off at a certain time for your convenience. Check if your TV has light adjustments as well if you’re an evening TV watcher.
5. Increase Blink Rate: Blink more frequently when using screens to maintain moisture in the eyes.

In addition to blue light-blocking equipment, individuals can protect their eyes with antioxidants, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are shown to help absorb excess blue light. Research indicates these antioxidants may contribute to eye health by filtering harmful light at the retina. Lifestyle changes, like limiting screen time before bed, are also essential to mitigate sleep cycle disruptions and should not be underestimated.

For a more in-depth look at blue light’s impact and prevention, you can explore the original article here.

Health Benefits and Impacts on Children

Keep in mind, blue light isn’t all bad, remember it also comes naturally from the sun and is a part of what guides our circadian rhythm. Blue light helps to increase memory, boosts alertness, increases cognitive functioning, and even elevates mood. Blue light is vital for the children's eye development. However, children are also extremely sensitive to blue light and absorb much more of it than adults do.

Which is why it is imperative to be disciplined in the way you expose yourself and your family to blue light. Avoid late night movies, don’t allow a child to play on a phone all day, especially after the sun goes down. 

It’s all about how and when you are exposed to blue light. Often eye strain comes from computers due to the fact we blink a lot less when staring at a screen and we tend to sit too close to it. If you work on a laptop, this is a good time to exercise the 20-20-20 rule as mentioned above. 

Conclusion

In our ever technologically growing world, awareness of blue light’s effects on eye health is crucial, as is taking steps to reduce exposure. Everywhere you go if you live near or in the city, there are screens and LED lights which may be difficult to get away from. Exercising discipline with phone usage, using blue light filters and adjusting the settings on your devices, and perhaps taking lutein and zeaxanthin as a preventative measure if it’s aligned with you could restore your sleep quality and reduce the risk of long-term eye issues. With this information, you can protect yourself and live a life with happy healthy eyes and be able to watch your families grow older.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes and speculative discussion only. It should not be considered medical advice or a substitute for professional healthcare. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, health routine, or treatment plan. The views expressed are based on available research and are subject to change as new information emerges. Any actions taken based on this content are solely at the viewer's own discretion.

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6288536/

https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/blue-light-effects-on-your-eyes-sleep-and-health/2022/08 

Purchase: 

Lutien and Zeaxanthin

Stick on blue light filters

Hanging Blue light Filters

Blue light Glasses