Sleeplessness and other problems that screen light causes in your health

Data shows that we are not sure of the negative effects on our health and steps we can take to protect ourselves.

Most of us know that sunlight contains visible light rays as well as invisible ultraviolet <x0). But visible light involves a variety of different colors, each carrying different amounts of energy.

“The blue light is one of the visible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum so it's one of the colors we can see”, says Romes Anguawela. “It's shorter wave length than any other visible color. It's close to UV, which is even shorter, but it's not visible to us”.

Blue light is derived from fluorent lamps and LED devices such as computers, intelligent phones, TVs, and tablets.

<x) This, plus the time we spend on our equipment and their proximity to our faces, has health professionals worried about the possible consequences.

Since blue light has shorter waves and higher frequencies, it is more likely to spread, causing turmoil.

So, if you spend too much time on a screen, you tend to get something called the fatigue of the display”, says Anguaweela. “Your eyes are trying to concentrate, which can make them tired. When you're watching a screen, your eyes go dry because your eye closing drops to half more than when you speak face-to-face”.

Just as UV light can affect our skin, so blue light does. A 2010 study compared the effects of both types of light on the skin, and while the skin exposed to blue light showed no signs of cancer growth, it showed more dark spots called hyperpigmentation.

Another laboratory-based study found that only one hour of screen exposure was enough to increase the production of free radicals, which can contribute to hyperpigmentation and skin aging. As with the health of the eyes, more research is required to ascertain the degree of effects.

You may feel a sense of guilt when you check your wise phone in bed. We all know that the equipment should be kept away from the bedroom.

There is clear evidence that exposure of blue light can affect sleep patterns and circus rhythms”, Anguanawela concludes.