Is the blue light damaging your eyes?
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:31First we found out the blue light emitted by our gadgets disturbs our sleep. It appears our tech toys could do much more harm to us.
There’s no denying the blue light emitted by our favourite tech toys — from smartphones, tablets, to computers — influences our body’s melatonin secretion. When the release of this sleep hormone is interrupted, you may have difficulty falling asleep and eventually suffer from sleep deprivation. That is why it is not advisable to fiddle with your smartphone up to a few hours before sleeping. But during the daytime, could the hours you spend on these gadget to reply emails and scroll through Instagram affect your health?
The blue light isn’t good for the eyes
By now, this fact is hardly a surprise. Our gadgets are fast becoming the villains in our hyper tech-savvy society.
Tablets and other portable devices emit two kinds of blue light that differ in wavelengths and impact. While the turquoise blue light (the one found in light therapy lamps) improves sleep and mood, the purple blue from our devices is indeed harmful to the eyes. Extended exposure to this light accelerates aging and premature death of retina cells in the eyes, and could cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
To keep your eye sight stellar for as long as possible, simply limit the time in front of screens. Now it’s also possible to protect the eyes from harsh rays through filtered glasses. “Visual fault or not, there are glasses with lenses specially treated to filter some of the harmful blue light,” says Annie Rodriguez, Vision Health Director at Essilor.
Maureen Diament and Natasha Gan
