In our modern digital age we’re more surrounded by artificial sources of light than ever. What we’re beginning to find out is that light emitted from electronics and light bulbs at night are actually harmful to you. The dreaded blue light at night is relatively new and it took us a while to figure out if it was good or not for us. For the most part, even up to the past couple hundreds of years, humans stayed in relative darkness at night. Now our nights are filled with light.

Unwelcomed Light

One of the problems is how this light affects our circadian rhythm or biological clock. Our sleep can begin to suffer and when that occurs it leads to multiple more factors that can affect health. These health defects related to sleep can begin to build up and cause more damage for you and your bodily system. Not all of these nighttime lights are the same; the worst offender is the blue light.

For example, blue lights offer benefits in the day as they keep you awake and more focused. But now with all of these electronics at night we’re more prone to seeing them at all hours of the night when we need our precious sleep.

Defining & Fixing Circadian Rhythms

All people have distinct rhythms, but the average one is 24 hours and one quarter of an hour. People who stay up later have longer rhythms, while those that wake up early have shorter rhythms. These are already built into the function of your body and one should be wary of competing with this natural function. If you must use electronics at night, there are options to avoid the blue light.

A set of Gunnar gaming glasses can assist you in those light night gaming sessions or scrolling through the tablet in the late hour. These glasses have special lenses that will contrast with the screen and block out harmful blue light. They also are adept at protecting you from overexposure from different lights. Different layers are made on there to protect from dust and other irritants in the air as well.

Concentrated Risk

The major risks can add up and contribute to several types of cancer if you’re staying up too late. Along with the negative effects of blue light, it also reduces our melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone that helps us get to sleep.

Studies have shown that changing up your circadian rhythm puts you at a greater risk for heart issues and obesity. Also for those that could be prone to diabetes or may have it can face lessened levels of leptin, a hormone that makes you feel full after eating.  Any kind of dim blue light an affect your sleep and lead you down into these negative roads. It would be wise to either use glasses, or keep the online time on a screen down to a minimum at night.

Morgan Tomlinson writes about eye health as well as other health matters that we face today due to technology. He works as an optician and, due to his growing concerns, tries to educate people on the do’s and don’ts of using technology.