Your mother wasn’t far off when she said, staring at computer screens all day would give you square eyes. Several scientific studies have identified blue light to be as harmful as the sun’s ultraviolet light on our eyes. The American Optometric Association has recognized the overuse of computers causes computer vision syndrome. This groups together numerous eye and vision-related complications linked to extended computer use.
Take 30 seconds now to concentrate on your eyes, do they feel sore? We tend to ignore minor discomfort, but as the time spent on a computer increases, the pain in our eyes increases.
If you close your eyes now for 30 seconds, does the pain go away? That’s very close to what it feels like after 10 minutes of wearing blue light computer glasses while looking at the screen.
The average Australian spends approximately seven hours in front of a computer screen and 4-6 hours in front of a mobile device. To help relieve digital eye strain, you should look away from the screen in 20-minute increments, out a window, or down the street.
The most common effects of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) or Digital Eye Strain are;
– Eyestrain
– Headaches
– Blurred vision
– Dry eyes
– Neck pain
– Shoulder pain
It’s common for these effects above to be associated with;
– poor lighting around your computer
– sunlight glare or auxiliary light on your computer screen
– improper viewing distances or computer screen angle
– incorrect seating posture, either above or below the screen
– vision problems
Numerous scientific studies published across the globe have identified Blue Light as dangerous. Researchers from the University of Toledo identified it could cause molecules inside the eye to become “toxic.”
Over time this can lead to macular degeneration — one of the most likely causes of blindness.
Blue Light, Sleep & Melatonin
The pineal gland in the brain is responsible for releasing melatonin, and it does so for a few hours before you start feeling tired. Melatonin level reaches their peak in the middle of the night.
Reading on a blue light-emitting device like a tablet instead of a printed book at night will take you longer to fall asleep due to the lack of melatonin produced. Essentially, blue light is a stimulant that sends a signal to your brain, tricking it into believing its day time, and you should be awake. Research has identified that people exposed to blue light at night tend to have less REM sleep; this is when dreams occur. Less REM sleep results in tiredness in the morning, even after a full eight hours of shuteye.
Stephen Lockley, a Harvard sleep researcher, stated that light at night is part of the reason so many people don’t get enough sleep. The idea that blue light is so problematic is that it has a short wavelength that affects levels of melatonin more than any other wavelength does.
Dr Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School identified in 1981 that daylight is the mechanism that keeps a person awake. The outside world runs our sleep schedule, so it makes sense that less blue light at night, can help regulate your biological clock.
Wearing blue light-blocking glasses at night will contribute to the elimination of sleep and circadian rhythm issues by preventing blue light from reaching your retinas.
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