How To Fight The Negative Effects Of Blue Light

If you’re spending a lot of time in front of the screen of a TV, computer, smartphone or tablet, and at the end of the day you have a difficult time focusing, blurry vision, or if sleep disturbance and fatigue are normal occurrences, then chances are the two things are connected. Reducing the amount of time you spend in front of a screen can end up making a huge difference.

Depending on your profession, you might be required to spend long hours in front of your computers, which means you have to spend a certain amount of time in front of a screen in order to do your job. If that is the case, then it comes down to diet. If you can’t cut back on your exposure to blue light, then you can balance things out by eating right in order to fight the strain.

Learning About Blue Light

When looking at sunlight, there is a combination of different colored light rays which have varying wavelengths and energy. Rays that have longer wavelengths tend to contain less energy, while those with shorter wavelengths generally have more energy. The rays which are on the red end of the light spectrum have longer wavelengths and less energy, while the ones on the blue end have wavelengths which are shorter, thus containing more energy.

We are exposed in large amounts to high-energy blue light rays when we spend time in front of a screen, and that can be damaging to our eyes. The cornea and lens that our eyes have are able to block any other UV rays, with the exception of blue light, which passes right through the retina. The damage it causes can lead to conditions such as vision loss and macular degeneration. When it comes to short term issues, starring at a screen for long amounts of time can lead to difficulty sleeping, headache, trouble focusing, and eye fatigue.

Blue Light At Night

Studies have shown exposure to screens at nighttime is problematic, due to its interference with the circadian rhythm, altering melatonin secretion. It’s important to note that blue wavelengths are supposed to be beneficial during daylight hours, due to the fact that they boost attention, mood, as well as reaction times, but spending excessive amount of time in front of a screen, especially after sundown, becomes problematic. Blue-turquoise light is essential to our vision, and it can help the body maintain wakefulness if the exposure to it is proper and timely.

In essence, any kind of light can end up suppressing the secretion of melatonin, but blue light at night does this in a more powerful fashion. According to an experiment conducted by Harvard researchers and their colleagues, which compared the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light compared to 6.5 hours of exposure to green light. The experiment showed that blue light ended up suppressing melatonin for approximately twice as long compared to the green light, thus shifting the circadian rhythms by twice the amount — 3 hours against 1.5 hours.

When Is It Time To Consult A Doctor?

If the symptoms associated with blue light strain are not improving with diet and lifestyle changes and they seem unbearable, it’s time to go to the doctor. Don’t try to write things off, because your quality of life might have to suffer as a result of sleep disturbance and headaches. Consult a doctor in order to make sure that there are no other underlying health issues, and they will help you figure out a plan in order to address the issue.

Fighting Blue Light With The Right Diet

A lot of devices around us have screens, which means that is difficult to get away from everything. In order to fight the damage that blue light does, eating the right food is necessary. According to studies, certain nutrients might be able to fight the effects that blue light has. Colorful fruits and vegetables are rich sources of zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, and lutein, which are 3 carotenoids that are beneficial when it comes to the health of our eyes.

What makes those compounds unique is the fact that they are able to cross the blood-retinal barrier in order to reach the eyes and bring protective benefits. Lutein is actually found in the macula of the eye in high concentrations, helping to block blue light from reaching the retina or other sensitive parts of the inner eye.

According to studies, those nutrients are able to improve symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, and headache. Green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, and kale are good sources of zeaxanthin, while plenty of leafy green vegetables contain lutein. Lutein is also found in yellow and orange produce, such as peppers, carrots, oranges, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squash. Meanwhile, astaxanthin is found in seafood, such as salmon and shrimp, and in certain types of algae. What makes astaxanthin different is the fact that they have high antioxidant activity, something which is important when it comes to fighting free radical damage to the eyes’ cells.

Eating The Right Food

In order to stick to eating healthy food, you will have to turn it into a habit. Try to figure out which types of fruits and vegetables are convenient for you to have — because you might not like certain types of leafy greens, for example, or you might be worried about your budget. There are plenty of options available for you to buy, which won’t make a hole in your budge and will suit your preferences.

Spinach is something that can be added to soups, egg dish, or sandwiches. Kale can be a convenient solution, as it’s healthy, it can last longer in the fridge, and is versatile, due to the fact that it can be used in salads, omelets, soups, stir-fries, stews, or blended into a pesto sauce. If you’re looking for even more convenience, frozen vegetables can be a solution — you can use them in soups, you can sauté them, or use them for a smoothie.

When it comes to fruits, in order to get your dose of orange and yellow fruit, you can try frozen mango — either in a smoothie, as a snack, or thawed. Sliced bell peppers can be great for humus, and mixing butternut squash or pumpkin puree into it can be a good way to increase your intake of lutein.

As far as your astaxanthin intake goes, you can make wild salmon a part of your weekly diet. However, you have to make sure that you don’t consume too much mercury, which means that variety should play a role. You can have shrimp once a week, salmon once or twice, and then you can add smaller fish to your diet, such as sardines. An alternative to this, in case you don’t want to eat fish, is incorporating algae in your dishes — whether we’re talking about salads, soups, or grain and veggie dishes.

It’s important to explore your options, in order to make sure that you’re enjoying the new diet. If you don’t like some fruits and vegetables simply try out various types that offer the same benefits until you find the ones that are right for your taste.

Protection Against Blue Light

There are other things that you can do besides making diet changes. Easy changes include using dim red lights as night lights, and not looking at bright screen for 2 to 3 hours before you go to bed. Red lights have the least amount of power when it comes to shifting your circadian rhythm and suppressing melatonin.

In a study conducted by the University of Toronto researchers, melatonin levels where compared in people who are exposed to bright indoor light and are wearing blue-light-blocking goggles and in people who are not wearing goggles but are exposed to regular dim light. The levels of melatonin were approximately the same in the two groups, which strengthens the idea that blue light is potent when it comes to suppressing melatonin. If you’re a night owl or a shift worker, you can protect your self by wearing glasses that block blue light.

When it comes to using your smartphone or tablet at night (or during the evening), there are certain apps that can reduce blue-light exposure — in fact, many devices include them as part of their system. For example, Apple offer Night Shift, which shifts the light to a redder wavelength during the evening and then brings the blue-wavelength back in the morning.

Exposure to blue light can be beneficial in the morning and during the day, as it reduces sleepiness, elevates alertness, and increases reaction times while strengthening the attention span. However, we don’t need prolonged exposure to it in order to get those benefits. If you want to manage light exposure overall, an effective way to do that is by using LED light bulbs which offer specific types of light depending on the time of day. Energy efficient light bulbs are designed to maximize the benefits of blue-wavelength during the day and minimize the negative effects at night.

Conclusion

Given the world we live in, blue light strain is a common thing due to the fact that we’re surrounded by modern technology and spending a lot of time in front of a screen is not uncommon. In order to fight the symptoms associated with blue light strain you can start making lifestyle and diet changes. A big change is paying attention to foods that are rich in lutein, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin, and introducing them into your diet. If symptoms don’t change over time, don’t try to push through them. Simply consult your doctor in order to figure out how to solve the problem.