How does light affect sleep?

You might think falling asleep is the easier thing in the world – after all, your body does it by itself every night! In reality, there are a galaxy of things that can get in the way between you and a good night’s rest. From substances like caffeine and alcohol to lifestyle factors such as anxiety or even an uncomfortable room can leave you waking up tired.

While most people know that they probably shouldn’t have a cup of coffee at 10:00pm and that piling on the blankets at the height of summer probably isn’t the best idea, you might be compromising your sleep in another way.

It all comes down to melatonin. A hormone released by the pineal gland that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, melatonin is essential for putting you to bed at night and getting you up in the morning. Melatonin has a soporific or sleep-inducing effect – in other words, high levels of melatonin correlate with feelings of tiredness, helping you get to sleep easier. Conversely, low levels of melatonin help you feel alert and awake.

Protection from blue light when you need it

Getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t mean spending your last hour awake in darkness. It might not even mean giving up on your phone in the evening – all you might need is just a little bit of preparation in order to remove the amount of blue light in your life. Melatonin production suppression is proportional to the intensity and the length of blue light exposure – reduce either and your melatonin production will increase.

This could take any number of forms. From using low blue light bulbs in your home to wearing blue light protection glasses during the day when doing screen work, there are numerous ways you can reduce the total amount of blue light your eyes are exposed to on a daily basis.

BlockBlueLight offers a range of products designed to help you minimise the amount of blue light in your life. Browse our range of eyewear, screen filters and lighting solutions and start giving yourself the rest you deserve