Some studies suggest that not enough exposure to sunlight in children could affect the growth and development of their vision. Some European governments, with health risks in mind, now pay women night shift workers hazard pay. They promise to block out 90% of the most harmful blue light while you’re gaming, reading, watching TV, or doing anything else on a screen without distorting the color. In one study, people in a sleep lab who read from an e-reader at night saw their nighttime melatonin levels drop by 55% after 5 days, took longer to fall asleep, had less restorative rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and felt more groggy the next day than those reading a paper book. ¿Debe preocuparnos el uso de la luz azul? 2) May Raise Cortisol Exposure to either short-wave blue light or long-wave red light significantly increased cortisol levels at night, with little effect on cortisol levels during the day, in a small trial on 12 people [ 19 ]. Customers say the glasses work as promised and are a great value for the price. Specialized cells in the retina are finely tuned to respond to the short-wavelength light that comes from a cloudless blue sky. At a minimum, youâll wake up feeling more refreshed. Start powering down at dusk: Use programs like f.lux and other apps that automatically shift screens on phones and laptops to more orange-red longer-wavelength lights at night. Rybnikova, N.A. Sign Up to Receive Our Free Coroanvirus Newsletter. Much of the research so far has been done on animals or comes from large population studies, which show patterns but donât confirm cause and effect. The best way to protect your eyes against eye strain from blue light in devices is to take regular breaks using the "20-20-20" rule: Every 20 minutes, shift your eyes to look at an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. You don't need to live by candlelight after dinner, but itâs a good idea to dim the lights and steer clear of bright blue screens. “It’s premature to take preventative action against blue light—there could be unintended consequences,” he says. But too much blue light exposure late at night from your phone, tablet or computer can make it harder to get to sleep. Maltese, F. Intensive Care Medicine, March 2016. HARMFUL EFFECTS OF BAD BLUE LIGHT: 1- Degenerative changes of retina: In a research study by Essilor and Paris Vision Institute in 2008, they found a specific band of blue light (415 nm to 455 nm) is most harmful to the retina by splitting the visible light into multiple bands of 10 nm and each band was then focused on a porcine retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells for several hours. Blue light exposure from screens is much less than the amount of exposure from the sun. Skip the glasses that claim to protect your eyes against blue light, because of a lack of evidence they are effective, Dr. Khurana advises. All rights reserved. No, Blue Light From Your Smartphone Is Not Blinding You, not enough exposure to sunlight in children could affect the growth and development of their vision, Skip the glasses that claim to protect your eyes against blue light, 12 Treatments for Dry Eyes: What Patients Should Know, Sight-Saving Advances in Diabetic Eye Disease, 30 Apps, Devices and Technologies for People With Vision Impairments, Computers, Digital Devices and Eye Strain, High-Tech Contact Lenses That Go Beyond Correcting Vision. You can also use artificial tears to refresh your eyes when they feel dry. Its effects are still being researched. In October, NASA went so far as to change all the lights on the International Space Station to ones that, as night falls, dim and change to longer-wavelength light, which has been shown to have less impact on human physiology than âblue light.â, Last June, the American Medical Association chimed in. âThis is not just a sleep problem. The Academy does not recommend any special eyewear for computer use. Mariana Figueiro, PhD, light and health program director at the Lighting Research Center in Troy, NY, stresses that in addition to minimizing bright blue-hued light -- especially from gadgets held close to the eyes -- at night, we should try to maximize the amount of bright light we get during the day. International Journal of Obesity, January 2016. Most of us blink less when looking at screens, causing eye strain and dry eyes, says Rahul Khurana, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Even if the gadgets are off, new eco-friendly street lamps, TVs, and household bulbs shine into the night, emitting a brighter, shorter-wavelength (more bluish), and more potent light than older incandescent bulbs did. It's also no more damaging than blue light from the sun, Dr. Khurana says. We know less about blue light. As light rays hit those cells, they tell the brain to stop pumping out drowsiness-inducing melatonin and start making hormones like cortisol and ghrelin that wake us up and make us hungry. It's also no more damaging than blue light from the sun, Dr. Khurana says. The time spent in this restful state, even if we are not actually sleeping, is restorative, Stevens says.