Blue light in the specific technical term is known as High Energy Visible Light (HEV). Such light is generated by smartphones, tablets, televisions and personal computer. This means that it is equivalent to daylight’s light and wavelength. The range of the light is 380-500nm and It is almost present everywhere. The amount of exposure and the intensity of the light may vary when coming from a smartphone than the sun. Your alertness and mental agility can be improved by both natural and artificial blue light. So when your body wants to relax and unwind blue light may be responsible for keeping you awake.
- Source of blue light
People spent 7 hours a day on digital equipment, on average. This is a great fair amount of time looking at the blue light. Even worse, nine out of ten people agree that immediately before going to bed, they search for an electrical gadget at least multiple times per week. That may be an encouragement to sleeplessness.
Indoor sources of blue light are:
- Televisions
- Smartphones
- Tablets
- Gaming systems
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs
- Computer monitors
- Effect on sleeping
Our body has an inner clock that controls our sleeping cycle this is also known as the circadian rhythm. Our internal functions are affected by a 24 hours biological period. The main function of circadian rhythm is to most importantly it decides when your body is prepared to be awake or sleeping. The external environment gives signals to the circadian rhythm like daylight or darkness. Blue light during daytime sends signals of alertness to your mind. Such blue light can have a negative impact on your sleep cycle. There is a large amount of blue light emitted from modern devices, if you are subjected to them throughout the evening it distracts your internal clock. During the dark, our body emits a melatonin hormone, which signalizes our body to sleep. But blue light from modern devices negatively impacts the development of melatonin, thus decreasing both the quantity and type of your sleep. Visit https://prettyprogressive.com/how-blocking-blue-light-at-night-helps-you-sleep/ you can get more information.
- Solution
Numerous e-readers use “E Ink” for electronic products, that do not rely on led lighting and can therefore minimize the effect on sleep. However, to really be visible in dark areas, these gadgets also need a source of light, such as an LED book light. This can decrease the gains, particularly if used in bed, of an “E Ink” unit. Some of the phones now come with these specialized settings where you can adjust the temperature of the light according to your need. In this way, one can reduce the negative impact of the blue light coming from the gadgets.
Setting the light according to your need can solve only a bit of the problem. One must keep this in mind that before sleeping tries to avoid any kind of activity, which keep you exposed to the blue light for a long period of time. Thus, avoid social media, televisions, videos etc a few hours before you hit the bed.
