What Is Light?
All light is composed of electromagnetic particles that travel in waves. The size of the particle cluster wavelength controls the strength, energy and type of light emitted. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the energy. Light is split into categories based on their wavelength; gamma rays, X-rays, UV-rays, visible light, IR-rays, and radio waves. However, the human eye is only sensitive to wavelengths of 400-700 nanometers (nm) which represents the visible light spectrum. The colors violet, indigo, blue and green are lower wavelength and higher in energy than yellow, orange and red.
Natural vs. Artificial Blue Light
Blue light resides in the visible light spectrum and is found at a low wavelength of 380- 500 nm which makes it high in relative energy. The sun emits blue light during daylight and it helps to regulates our bodies sleep/wake cycle known as our circadian rhythm. Natural blue light during the day is actually quite beneficial and can enhance mood, alertness, and well-being. For example, the reason when you wake up when the sunlight enters your room is because the blue light enters your light helps you to suppress the secretion of sleep hormones like melatonin. Natural blue light helps our bodies stay on track and to keep us alert and active during the day.
Evolutionary, human exposure to blue light ceased when the sunset, however, modern day technology has created overexposure to blue light. Devices like phones, TV’s, computers and tablets are artificially lit and emit high quantity of blue light. Since our bodies are not meant to be exposed to blue light after sunset, our natural rhythms are being altered, causing our bodies internal clock to have irregular patterns. As mentioned before, blue light suppresses melatonin to allow alertness during the day, however, at night if exposure to blue light is still occurring, melatonin secretion is still suppressed, stopping you from going to sleep.
Avoiding Blue Light For Better Sleep
Avoiding blue light past sunset will help to restore you body back to its natural circadian rhythm by allowing secretion of the correct hormones at the proper times. This can be done with little cost and effort by
- Wearing U-vex glasses after sunset to block blue light exposure (See Product Recommendations)
- Turning your i-phone to night-mode
- Avoiding screens 2-hours before bedtime
- Putting an amber filter on screens (See Product Recommendations)
- Changing house lighting from LED to amber bulbs (See Product Recommendations)