Many of us try to live our modern world according to the principles of a healthy lifestyle. In such realities, we can't ignore how we treat our bodies. In order to do this, we try to exercise, set alarms to wake up at the same time, and pay close attention to what and when we eat. And, of course, many of us pay attention to the amount of blue light we get before we go to bed.
Let's figure out together what blue is. In fact, blue light is a color that can be perceived by the human eye. Think back to your physics class. As our teacher told us, blue light is nothing more than a short wavelength. Such a wave, as we know, produces a large amount of energy to the outside world. We are often exposed to this kind of light when we use different electronic devices: computer screens, TV, cell phones, and iPads.
How should we relate to the effects of light? In our opinion, the best comparison is between light and medicine. How does that work? You could compare the effect of light to food - for example, if you eat junk food all day, your stomach will not respond to it adequately. It's the same with light. If you use harmful light sources all day, or use it inappropriately, you are unlikely to be able to feel well, to function normally all day, and to sleep comfortably. In today's world, we recommend that you treat your light consumption more sensibly. In this case you will have a much better guarantee that you will feel better and sleep more comfortably.
Our modern life assumes that there is light everywhere. Sometimes it really can be very difficult to find darkness. Also, nowadays, there is a lot of light with a blue wavelength. Why does this happen? Let's discuss it together.
It is very important to be aware of the fact that blue wavelength light is potentially hazardous to human health.
According to numerous scientific studies, blue light is the most aggressive form of light and is one of the main causes of insomnia. What is the main reason? Blue light suppresses the production of a sleep hormone called melatonin, and it also alters circadian rhythms. Disruption of these rhythms significantly affects the body's systems, including the cardiovascular, metabolic and immune systems. Such disturbances naturally lead to a loss of performance and subsequently to serious health problems.
There is indeed plenty of scientific evidence that blue light interferes with sleep. For example, one medical fact is that working at a computer between 9 and 11 p.m. significantly reduces the total amount of sleep, interferes with the production of a hormone called melatonin, and considerably affects the frequency of nighttime awakenings.
In addition, it has been scientifically proven that blue light essentially prevents body temperature from dropping throughout the night. The fact is that body temperature naturally decreases at night, and exposure to blue light significantly alters the body's natural processes. Such exposure directly affects the body's normal circadian rhythms. Experiments have shown that after exposure to blue light at night, participants felt unwell and experienced a serious loss of performance.
Let's summarize what we said earlier. We have learned that nighttime exposure to blue light has an extremely destructive effect on healthy and comfortable sleep and negatively affects the so-called circadian rhythms. In this situation there is an excellent solution - to change the light source to red in the evening in order to get a restful and comfortable night's sleep.
We have already learned that blue light can be a danger to sleep and health if used at the wrong time of day. However, such light is not always as harmful as it seems. Scientists often recommend exposing yourself to blue light in the morning because:
Blue light discourages the desire for a nap in the middle of the day
Blue sleep speeds up reactions to external stimuli
Blue light enhances your vigilance
Blue light has a positive effect on concentration and general alertness
However, medics tell us that blue light does not have to affect us for long periods of time in order for us to feel its benefits. A relatively short amount of time is enough for us to feel its positive effects on our body. Strange as it may seem, it only takes 30 minutes to get a positive result. In order to enjoy the lasting effects of light on our bodies, we only need a basic understanding of the benefits to our skills and habits.
Ways to Regulate Blue Light Exposure
Special carotenoid supplements. Many scientific studies suggest that such supplements have the amazing ability to strengthen our eyes' natural ability to block blue light. We know from high school biology that our eyes have a special shield against blue light. This layer is the retinal pigment epithelium, which is the non-most layer of cells around the epithelium. This layer is an excellent filter for blue light and has an excellent ability to protect the retina from degeneration by extraneous influences.
There are a large number of blue light filtering apps available to minimize our exposure to blue light in the evening and night hours. Please pay attention to the settings and functionality of your tablet and phone - many devices now have such filters, even if you did not know about it.
There are now a wide variety of filters and goggles that block blue light at times of day when it is undesirable.
There are specialized bulbs that generate the optimal type of light depending on the time of day. There are a lot of bulbs on the market today that conserve electrical energy and at the same time take into account our biological characteristics in order to optimize our circadian rhythms. Such a precise effect ensures the optimal interaction with light and our body's characteristics: activation during the day and minimization of unnecessary effects at night.
We Will Tell You Some Basic Points that will Help You in Practice
Get enough natural light throughout the day. How can light have a positive effect on you? Getting enough daylight during the day will help you sleep comfortably through the night, improve your positive attitude toward life, and normalize your circadian rhythms. There is another interesting tip - if you spend at least 10-15 minutes in the daylight under natural sunlight, it is a kind of vitamin, which has the most positive effect on your body.
At night, it's a good idea to keep the screens as far away from your face as possible. Oddly enough, there is a very big difference between watching an interesting movie and sitting half the night on your smartphone until you realize that falling asleep is an unrealistic task for you. The fact is that the amount of artificial light that you are exposed to is critical to you and the quality of your sleep. There is an option to set yourself a certain hour when you turn off all mobile devices. Take into consideration that light consumption should be minimal before you go to bed.
These days, it is very important to adequately assess the extent to which light affects a particular physiological or psychological process in the body. At the moment there is such a special concept as the light diet. Nowadays there are a lot of different information sources that allow us to learn more about the effects of light on the human body and its beneficial effects on health, the nervous system and a comfortable sleep through the night.
In addition, it is extremely important to choose convenient and comfortable bedding for a restful sleep throughout the night. Pay attention to our range - we have a huge number of comfortable and favorable pillows, blankets, convenient mattresses, which will undoubtedly help you to sleep and enjoy your pleasure.