So what’s the deal with blue light? We all know it comes from our computers, tablets, phones, TVs, any screen really. It can also even come from your lightbulbs in your home, due to the increase in usage of LED lightbulbs. Lately I’ve been doing a ton of research on blue light and it’s changed my thinking about technology SO much. I wanna share what I’ve learned with you guys.
Negative Mental & Physical Health Effects of Blue Light
Many blame social media for the amount of anxiety, depression, and stress we see in today’s young people. However, it seems blue light IN GENERAL puts a grave amount of stress on the body. Not saying social doesn’t cause its fair amount of comparison game / FOMO etc. but it may not be the only source of our stress. Staring at any screen, especially in the evening and in close proximity to your eyes can actually cause these symptoms:
- Depression
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Links to cancer
- Overeating (and all the health issues this creates)
- Lack of sleep (and all the issues this creates)
- Decreased cognitive function
- Memory issues
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Bad for your vision:
- Causes eye strain
- Increases macular degeneration (basically causing your vision to blur + decrease)
How does it cause these symptoms?
Not only does blue light inherently cause stress on your body on its own, but it keeps you awake! Which obviously can cause mental + physical fatigue. Here’s how that works.
You have something called the circadian rhythm – basically it just means the balance of rest and awake time that your body needs. Your circadian rhythm runs on a 24 hour cycle and works best when you’re getting your regular 8 hrs of sleep (in the dark) to re-power your brain for the next day. When light travels through the optic nerve of the eye to the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus or SCN, it tells your brain “it’s time to be awake!” Even if it’s past midnight and you’re just looking at your phone… When the brain gets this signal, it delays the release of melatonin – the chemical that makes you sleepy! So the more blue light our eyes are taking in, the less sleepy we will feel. Kinda makes sense right?
If you’ve ever been jet lagged, you KNOW how tough it can be to function when your circadian rhythm is out of whack… It makes even THINKING more difficult!
What’s more, your cortisol levels are “significantly elevated by both blue and red lights at night.” What does this mean? Essentially, any light at night, whether it comes from a screen or otherwise, it raises your cortisol levels like crazy! What does that do? Well, basically cortisol is your body’s alarm system. It is the #1 stress hormone, “best known for fueling your flight or fight reaction.” Raising cortisol levels can result in increased anxiety, depression, STRESS, headaches, memory problems, trouble sleeping, weight gain, and more.
Once I learned this, I started making an effort to stay away from my phone/ computer/tv leading up to bed time. I even started dimming the lights around my house while getting ready for bed. I feel like it really helps to get my mind relaxed and ready for sleep. Plus, once I start dimming all the lights it motivates me to go the extra mile – turn on some soothing music, wash my face, turn on my oil diffuser, doing my gua sha, etc. Getting in bed in the right mindset is so key to getting a good night’s rest!
Not getting enough sleep also can obviously lead to stress, anxiety, depression, etc. And decrease your overall health, performance at work, put stress on relationships, and so on. So it’s a vicious cycle! That said, if you DO need to be awake (aka – the morning you’re NOT WANTING to get OUT of bed) you can know that the blue light WILL wake you up, that’s a great time to check your phone, flip on the lights etc.
The Good Things about Blue Light
Not only does blue light wake you up, but it has been proven to increase alertness, memory, and cognitive function. So it’s not all bad. But it seems human eyes were not designed for man-made blue light and is too aggressive for the evening time right before bed. But it actually has positive effects for you in moderation during the daytime hours.
An Easy Way to Think About it
When the sun goes down, so do the screens. Use the sun going down as a sign that it’s about time to reduce your screen consumption. Put your phone away, read a book instead of the TV, or flip on music/a podcast etc. Anything to get your eyes away from that blue light. Even dimming the lights in your home is a great way to give your body/brain the signal that it’s time to get ready for sleep. I feel like the more prep I put into a good night’s rest, the better I end up sleeping. And as we all know, good quality sleep is VITAL for feeling your best both physically and emotionally.
Phone Settings
There are some phone settings that can help. On iPhones, you can choose what color to set your light as AND it offers a “dark mode” for night so if you HAVE TO roll over and check something, it’s not blasting you AS MUCH blue light as usual. That said, I turned on red light and yellow light but found it harder to read things on my phone. I think the best choice is having the phone automatically shift into “dark mode” at sunset. Because you’ll want to reduce your blue light absorption BEFORE bed not right as you get in, to help you fall asleep better. Here is a quick video tutorial on how to set your iPhone to “sunrise/sunset” mode.
CONCLUSION:
Blue light during the day = GOOD.
Blue light at night or leading up to bed time = BAD.
Switch your phone settings, dim the lights in the evening, and screens down when the suns down!
SOURCES:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/sleep-drive-and-your-body-clock