Blue Light Glasses
Arsalan Rashid explained in a blog about Presbyopia that your eyes lose their flexibility as you age and it is inevitable. A graph by The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that the majority of people in Australia have eye conditions as they age. New advancements in surgery can replace the need for eyeglasses (which correct vision when worn).
The American Optometric Association (AOA) wrote about the vision of adults 41 to 61 and vision as you age. One cause being a reduction in tear drops that are essential for healthy eyes. An article by Amy L Sheppard and James S Wolffsohn from Aston University in Birmingham, UK wrote how Digital Eye Strain (DES) causes eyestrain, blurred vision, dry eyes and headaches. A poll of New York office building workers reported some feeling symptoms some of the time; however, most don't need a poll to know how they feel from using a computer. Asthenopia or Eye Strain is normally from two reasons: The first is the external irritation of the eyes from dry eyes, which is causing irritation or burning. The second is the internal strain of the eyes called binocular vision stress, or ache or headache behind the eyes. LED screens are normally backed by a fluorescent screen, and new fluorescent lights may be why many are feeling fatigue in their eyes. My electrician boasts about how little power fluorescent lights use, and this may explain why office workers and computer users feel the burn from using screens – the high use of fluorescents in offices and LED screens, tablets and smart phones all of which have a fluorescent backlight and lots of blue light. An article by Best Buy explains that LCD (expensive) are new computer screens which replaced the old LED screens, but most smart phones are LED. A tech tip here explains the difference in screens. So if you are working in an office with a new computer, it’s most likely the fluorescent lights making your eyes sore, but with smart phones and tablets it’s the screen. An article by Illuminating Engineering Society tries to debunk the idea of overexposure to blue light by comparing the light in a warehouse to a LED screen and stating there is 27 times more blue light outside on a sunny day than a LED screen. In an attempt to try and find the watts required for a café I built, I found that the light required varies greatly if it’s a supermarket, which requires the greatest watts (with fluorescent), is half that required for a shop and less for a restaurant or warehouse. As anyone knows, simply walking around on a very bright day is tough and I spend all day squinting if I forget my sunglasses. On those days I get a headache. Noting that less than 1% of light actually reaches the retina (article). So now let’s look at if blue light affects the internal eye.
As shown above, blue light sits between approx. 380nm and 500nm. This was featured in an article which explains the shorter the wavelength of light, the more energy it contains. A nm or nanometers is one billionth of a meter, or 0.000000001; light between 400nm to 700nm has radiation. Blue light is approx. 1/3 of all visible light. Radiation is the same light that you get a sunburn from. As blue light has the most power and has radiation than you are burning your retina with blue light. That’s why it’s hurting your retina and I don't get a headache when I wear my sunglasses outside. If I’m on a laptop, tablet or bright screen right in my face I get a headache, but I don’t in a dimly lit room like sitting in the lounge room with the kitchen light on watching the TV. That’s why nan said don't sit too close to the TV you'll hurt your eyes. Funny how nan was always right. As blue light can also affect your biological clock by 1.5 hours a day and sleep patterns are typically in 1.5 hour cycles, then too much blue light can cause serious sleep problems. I’d write about that next time.
References
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