You may be thinking to yourself, what even is blue light? This blue light is actually found in sunlight, and yes, it is actually blue. The blue light in sun rays is naturally occurring blue light. What is of concern is the amount of artificial blue light we are exposed to. This man-made blue light comes from things like fluorescent lights, computer screens, smartphones, and many other digital devise (Heiting). So blue light is not totally bad for you. It is actually natural to absorb it when outside and exposed to the sun. The sun actually emits even more blue light than these devices do. However, because of the amount of time we spend with our faces in front of some type of screen, this is a cause for worry.
Our eyes are extremely effective at blocking UV rays from the sun. “Less than one percent of UV radiation from the sun reaches the retina, even if you aren’t wearing sunglasses” (Heiting). Blue light passes through straight into the cornea, the lens, and right into the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of our eye (Boyd). The job of the retina is to transfer these light rays into impulses that then travel to our brain. This is how we see and interpret images. You are doing it right now at this very moment. The retina is crucial for clear vision. Doctors are concerned by the damage they are seeing to the cells in the retina from blue light exposure.
There are studies that show 60% of people sit in front of a screen for more than 6 hours a day. These statistics are much different when compared to 20 years ago. Business was not so dependent on computers and phones. Today, even if we are not working on a screen, we are still constantly glued to our digital devices (Blue Light Exposed). The effects of this long-term are still widely unknown and this is troubling.
The short-term effects people have begun to experience are eyestrain, migraines, and fatigue; mental and physical. This is because blue light is a short wavelength. “The shorter the wavelength; the higher the energy” (Blue Light Exposed). Blue light is one of the shortest wave lengths making it very inclined to flickering and glare. This then causes the eye strain that many people experience at first. The fatigue that is followed by exposure of blue light is then followed by the inability to fall asleep. Blue light is meant to make you alert and boost your mood. This is a direct correlation to a lack of sleep. Your body struggles to produce melatonin to help you fall asleep (Blue Light Exposed).
Blue light exposure is a reality that everyone must face today. Even if you don’t work from a computer or phone; it is likely you still own one and use it in your free time. It only takes two hours on a digital device to start experiencing eye-strain and fatigue (Blue Light Exposed). If you don’t own any of these devices, it is highly likely that you own a TV. If you do not own a TV, then you definitely still come in contact with LED and fluorescent lighting. To simplify it, blue light is ultimately inescapable. Everyone must be made aware of this risk to make the necessary precautions against blue light effects.
Works Cited
Heiting, G. (2019). Retrieved 21 October 2019, from https://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/blue-light.htm
Blue Light Exposed. (2019). Retrieved 21 October 2019, from http://www.bluelightexposed.com/#bluelightexposed
Boyd, K. (2019). Retinal Detachment: What Is a Torn or Detached Retina?. Retrieved 21 October 2019, from https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/detached-torn-retina