A Guide to Knowing How Blue Light Affects Sleep Quality
Electronics have become integral to our daily lives, especially during the digital age. From our home appliances to our smartphones, they've revolutionized how we work and communicate with one another. These gadgets have also helped make our modern lives more comfortable and efficient.
Unfortunately, like other things, they also have their drawbacks. Screens emit blue light that can affect sleep patterns and destroy your eyesight, mainly when you use them before bed. For this reason, you should minimize your exposure in the evening by investing in the best blue-blocking lights and glasses.
If you want to sleep better and ultimately increase your productivity at school or work, this article will define blue light and how it affects your sleep quality. We'll also help you mitigate its effects.
What Is Blue Light?
Light is an energy form made of electromagnetic radiation. The colors we see depend on how much power the light contains. White light combines all the colors we can see, while blue light is part of the visible spectrum and can affect our hormones, alertness, and sleep patterns.
Electronic devices, fluorescent lights, and light-emitting diode (LED) lights emit visible blue light.
What Are the Common Sources of Blue Light?
Artificial blue light from fluorescent lights, LED lights, smartphones, televisions, computer screens, tablets, e-readers, and video game consoles can disrupt our circadian rhythms.
Understanding these sources can help you manage your exposure.
What Are Circadian Rhythms?
Circadian rhythms are natural, day-long processes that dictate our body's vital activities, such as sleep. Light plays a crucial role in regulating these rhythms; historically, they have been in sync with the sun's rising and setting.
How Does Blue Light Affect Your Circadian Rhythm?
The increased use of electronics and artificial light has exposed us to light before bedtime, affecting our natural sleep patterns. The blue light in sunlight significantly affects our biological clocks. It stimulates the parts of our brain that keep us awake and help us perform better during the day. However, exposure to it before bedtime can disrupt our sleep.
On the other hand, correctly timing our exposure and blue light therapy can help treat sleep disorders by aligning our body clock with our surroundings.
What Are the Negative Impacts of Chronically Misaligned Circadian Rhythms?
Blue light can interfere with sleep if you expose yourself to it before bedtime. This visible light prevents the body from producing melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. Although it's helpful during the day, remember it can be unhealthy at night because it can make your brain think it's still daytime, disrupting your sleep patterns and causing health problems like metabolic
disorders and depression.
You can reduce the risk of adverse health outcomes by educating yourself about the sources of blue light and minimizing your exposure.
How to Mitigate the Effects of Blue Light
Switching off the light sources is the best solution to decrease exposure to blue light at night. I also means reducing the LED and fluorescent lights’ brightness and turning off electronic devices once dark outside. Moreover, using special glasses that block blue light can help minimize the adverse effects of bright light on melatonin production. While they may not work for everyone, they’re still viable.
Besides those habits, you can try other ways to limit exposure before bedtime, like setting a routine, using the best blue-blocking lamps, or dimming electronic screens. You can also try an app or invest in an eye mask to block out light sources in your bedroom.
Lighting Up to Sleep Better
Nobody deserves to suffer from poor sleep quality because it can negatively affect your health and productivity. You can sleep better at night by limiting your screen time, investing in the best blue-blocking lights, and wearing anti-radiation glasses.
If you need the best blue-blocking lights to help improve your sleep quality, check out Amber Light! We offer effective but affordable solutions to eliminate blue light from your nightly routine.
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