According to Oregon State University researchers, the blue light that comes from common household fixtures, computers, and phones, is having a significant impact on our longevity. This is the case even if the light doesn’t hit the eyes. One study shows that longevity is reduced when exposed to artificial blue light for 12 hours out of the day. This is only the beginning of how daily exposure to artificial blue light is accelerating aging.
The effects of blue light are more than most people realize. Blue light from LEDs and other devices is well beyond just affecting one’s eyes. It affects people’s sleep patterns, skin health, stress levels, and even how the brain functions.
Is blue light bad for your eyes?
The short answer is yes. It can cause eye strain, headaches, sore and dry eyes, and can even lead to macular degeneration. However, there are many other health problems that can be caused by blue light not just entering the eyes but also being exposed to your whole body. Daily exposure to blue light has been shown to be accelerating aging and leading to many health problems well beyond the eyes.
In this article we will look at all the different ways blue light exposure is making you age faster.
Health Problems Caused by Blue Light
As just mentioned, there are many negative effects of blue light. Knowing more about the issues and health problems that are caused by blue light emitted from LEDs and digital devices can help people to stay healthier, younger, and live longer. Headaches and eye strain are a common problem we experience from being under LED or fluorescents lights (which are extremely high in blue light) for extended periods of time. These are just a couple of the issues that are caused by excessive exposure to unnatural blue light.
Lets take a look at the other common issues excessive blue light exposure is doing to us.
Disrupted Sleep
One of the things noted in certain research studies is the impact that blue light has on one’s sleep patterns. According to Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, everyone needs natural light to keep their circadian clock in check. However, there is more evidence recently that suggests being exposed to artificial blue light can be detrimental to sleep patterns. It can even cause circadian disorders and other sleep disorders. According to Paula’s Choice sleep expert, when sleep quality is affected, weight gain can also occur, and obesity has been shown to be a large influencing factor in accelerated aging and overall longevity. In addition, a holistic esthetician (Nichola Weir), states that sleep is essential for the skin to repair itself. So, not only is blue light affecting sleep, but it prevents the skin from repairing any damage that was done to it.
Skin Damage
In addition to sleep issues, blue light can also cause skin cell damage. There isn’t an exact amount of blue light that is known to cause skin cell damage. However, research does show that being exposed to 12 hours a day of blue light is likely to accelerate aging, possibly even with skin cell damage. This could lead to wrinkles and skin blemishes earlier on in life. It can also cause inflammation of the skin, skin color changes, and redness, as well. If you continuously expose yourself to high levels of artificial blue light from computers and blue light from phones and other devices, it is likely that you will age much quicker.
Excessive Stress Levels
Stress levels also rise when being exposed to blue light for too long. Research shows that being exposed to blue light for longer periods of time can increase stress responses with much higher and elevated levels of cortisol which is our primary stress hormone. As most of us know, stress can certainly accelerate the aging process, leading to wrinkles, gray hairs, and exhaustion.
Eye Damage
We all know that as people age they often have more troubles with their vision. According to Health.com, blue light can damage the cells in one’s eyes and make blindness occur even faster. If you want to protect your eyes from this type of damage wearing blue light filter computer glasses when staring at the screens and working under artificial light during the day is your best defense.
These are just some of the many issues that can be caused due to daily blue light exposure. Not only does blue light enter our eyes and cause eye strain, headaches, and sleep disruption, but it causes many other wider health issues which are all responsible for accelerating the aging process. From increased stress levels to skin cell damage, research conclusively shows that blue light from fluorescent and led lighting, and digital devices certainly causes us to age quicker.
Solutions for Preventing Blue Light Accelerating Aging
If you have already been exposed to a bunch of blue light for long periods some damage most certainty will already be done causing faster aging. However, if you want to quit accelerating your own aging process, there are some solutions for preventing blue light health issues in the first place.
Blue Light Filter Computer Glasses
Are you tired of experiencing eye strain, headaches, sore dry and tired eyes from being being bombarded from excessive blue light all day? More than likely if you are working in an office or another facility where the lights used are LED or fluorescent lights. These are type of lighting highest in blue light and the worst for your health.
You can protect your eyes by using blue light glasses designed for daytime use, these are commonly referred to as Blue Light Computer Glasses. Well-designed computer glasses are designed to filter down the levels of blue light by 50%, this allows the levels of blue light to be more balanced like we see in nature. Moderate levels of blue light during the day are essential to keeping us awake and feeling good, therefore you don’t want to completely block all blue light, instead lower the exposure to more natural healthy levels.
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Once the sun has set any exposure to blue light will send signals to your brain that its daytime. This will cause levels of the stress hormone cortisol to remain high, and suppress releasing the sleep hormone melatonin. High cortisol and low melatonin to at night will leave you feeling awake and wired. Blocking all blue light at night is essential to getting quality sleep which in turn allows your body to repair and recover and slow aging.
Using science backed blue light blocking glasses at night will the block all blue light emitted from screens, phones and lighting which is the perfect solution to allow you to properly wind down, relax, and get quality deep and restful sleep. Green light has also been shown to impact melatonin levels so blue light glasses that also remove the green spectrum of light are the most optimal glasses to use at night.
Blue Blocking Light Bulbs and Blue Free Lighting
The most commonly used light bulbs in homes are conventional LED bulbs which are extremely high in blue light. The intensity of blue light in this type of lighting tricks the body into thinking it is middle of the day, all day, so the body can’t wind down and rest. If you invest in blue blocking light bulbs, you can stop using the conventional lighting high in damaging blue light. These blue blocking light bulbs help you to relax and restore and maintain healthy circadian rhythms. There are also other blue light free solutions we have created; NoBlue amber book lights are ideal for using when reading prior to bed. Our Red night lights which are great for kids bedrooms, late night toilet trips, and nursing mothers, they provide you with just enough light to see without waking you up fully.
AND FINALLY…
We hope you have found this article informative and provided you with information how blue light is causing many health problems beyond the eye which is in turn making as age a lot faster than we should be. Using the solutions, we talked about are the best way to mitigate the accelerated aging process blue light can cause.
Don’t forget to check out our store and if you need any more information on any of the above topics, please get in touch with one of our expert team for more advice.
