Blue Light: Do you like blue light? Here is why you should treat it with care: A blog about blue light and the negative effects of short exposure.

Blue light has a very short wavelength, and so produces a higher amount of energy. Studies suggest that, over time, exposure to the blue end of the light spectrum could cause serious long-term damage to your eyes, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. It can also contribute to sleep loss.

The danger comes not from your computer screen or your phone—which are designed to emit as little blue light as possible—but from fluorescent and LED lights, which are everywhere now. The problem gets worse at night, because when there is less ambient light, your pupil becomes more dilated. This means that more harmful rays can enter your eye. The very shortest wavelengths are blocked by the cornea and lens in our eye; however, with age these structures lose their ability to block out such wavelengths; thus older people have increased risk for damage from blue light.

One answer is to wear special glasses that block UV rays and some blue light (particularly if you have cataracts). Another solution is to wear regular sunglasses outside: they protect your eyes from damaging UV rays just as well

In 1992, a neuroscientist named Mark Rea published a paper in which he discussed the negative effects of ambient light. His findings were significant because they demonstrated that lighting can affect a person’s hormones. In particular, the body’s production of melatonin is suppressed by ambient light, leading to sleep disruption and even premature aging.

Rea’s research was cited in a book I read recently: “The Blue Light Effect,” by Dr. Peter Mansfield. Mansfield argues that short exposure to ambient light can cause long-term health problems such as depression, cancer and diabetes.

This post will focus on what Mansfield calls “the blue light effect” and how it affects our health. The first part of the post will examine how this phenomenon works, and the second part will discuss ways to reduce your exposure.

Doctors have known for decades that artificial light can suppress the body’s production of melatonin, but how does this affect us? Mansfield explains that there are two types of cells in our eyes: rods and cones (Photoreceptor cells). These cells release neurotransmitters that help regulate our circadian rhythm, or internal clock. Rods are sensitive to low levels of light and respond by releasing melatonin into our system at night time when we should be

The blue light emitted from today’s digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers can have short- and long-term adverse effects on sleep, according to Harvard researchers.

Blue light has a reputation for disrupting sleep due to its short wavelengths and high energy. The circadian system is most sensitive to short wavelengths, which means blue light can have a significant impact on sleep even when it doesn’t appear bright.

In the past few years, numerous studies have linked blue light exposure with the onset of various eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts and myopia, but little research has been conducted into the connection between blue light and sleep quality.

The researchers exposed lab mice to 12 hours of daylight followed by 12 hours of dim lighting during their subjective night. During this time period, they also exposed some of the mice to two hours of diffuse blue light at night. After four days, they found that all of the mice exposed to blue light experienced sleep disruption and increased depressive symptoms compared with mice that were not exposed to any light at night.

In the past decade, computer screens, tablets, and smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. While these devices have allowed us to stay more connected and be more productive than ever before, they have also been shown to disrupt natural sleep patterns and suppress melatonin production.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that helps regulate our sleep cycles. It is released when it gets dark outside and makes our bodies feel tired. It is typically suppressed by exposure to light, particularly blue light which is emitted in abundance by electronic devices.

Blue light has the greatest potential to suppress melatonin and shift circadian rhythms because its peak wavelength falls in the middle of the visible spectrum (~480nm) where it maximizes melanopsin activation – a photopigment found in specialized photosensitive cells in the retina of our eyes (1).

…the blue light emitted by your smartphone may be negatively affecting your sleep. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about the negative effects of excessive screen time, but there’s more to this than just eye strain. Light exposure directly affects how much melatonin your body produces, and melatonin is a hormone that helps you fall asleep.

The light from our devices isn’t the only source of blue light in our lives. The sun also emits it, but in the evening most of us aren’t outside for long periods of time looking at the sun (we hope). Plus, our built environment is brighter than ever before. We have streetlights and building lights and all sorts of things that weren’t around 100 years ago emitting blue light all night long.

Exposure to blue light during the day can boost alertness and make us feel more awake, but at night it can have the opposite effect. Exposure to blue light at night can suppress melatonin production even more than normal indoor lighting and make it harder to fall asleep.

The best way to reduce exposure to blue light at night is just not to look at screens near bedtime (easier said than done). You can also get glasses that block blue light (which also has other side benefits like reducing eye strain

The blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrain the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm. Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. In turn, sleeping poorly could potentially lead to weight gain, diabetes, depression, heart disease and an early death.

The blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrain the production of melatonin , the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm . Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. In turn, sleeping poorly could potentially lead to weight gain , diabetes , depression , heart disease and an early death .

The biological impact of light is mediated by a variety of photoreceptors, which lead to changes in neuronal activity in the retina and subsequently the brain.

While we have known for decades that retinal light exposure can alter circadian physiology, more recent research has uncovered new mechanisms by which retinal light impacts brain function and behavior. In particular, it has become clear that certain wavelengths of light are more effective than others at altering brain function via specialized light-sensitive cells in the retina. The most important physiological effects of these wavelengths occur at night, when they suppress the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that synchronizes circadian physiology and behavior.

The target of this suppression is intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which transmit light signals to several regions of the brain, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a region involved in circadian rhythm regulation. These ipRGCs are especially sensitive to blue wavelengths (460nm) of light.

Although ipRGCs respond to other wavelengths of visible light, this response is roughly 10 times less than their response to blue light. Importantly, ipRGCs also receive input from rods and cones; however, they do not mediate visual perception.