The harsh truth about blue light – why you need to be careful?

We all are very much aware of the fact the harmful UV rays of the sun can cause severe damage to your eyes and that your eyes need to be protected from them. But have you ever contemplated about how harmful blue light rays can be for your eyes? Let’s talk about this and find out today.

In almost 99% cases, most of our work hours are spent in front of a computer screen on a day to day basis. According to recent studies and researches, as much as 60 out of 100 people have a habit of spending close to 6 hours or more every day staring at a digital screen at the office or at home.

So what exactly is blue light? Blue light is nothing but a certain color in the VISIBLE LIGHT SPECTRUM, which is easily visible to the eyes of humans. The main constituent of light is electromagnetic particles that can travel in certain waves to reach our eyes. The range of these waves is in strength and length and they usually emit a lot of energy. In all actuality, the highest amount of energy will be emitted when the wavelength will be at its shortest. The wavelength is usually measured in NM or nanometers, which is equal to one-billionth of a standard meter in the standard metric system. Each and every wavelength comes in different colors and is classified into x-rays, gamma rays, visible light, radio waves, infrared light, and UV rays or ultraviolet rays. The entire electromagnetic spectrum is made of these categories.

But, among all these categories, the visible light category is the only one visible to the naked eye, and also the category that our eyes are sensitive to. The visible light category of the electromagnetic spectrum is usually further categorized into seven specific colors, namely, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Among these, blue light has the highest energy level and intensity owing to its short wavelength, and hence over exposure can be harmful to human eyes.

So where is blue light emitted from? In all actuality, blue light is present all around us, wherever we are, and wherever we go. The biggest source of blue light is the light that travels from the sun through our atmospheric layers. But other common sources of harmful blue light are TV screens, computer screens, laptop screens, tablet screens and smartphone screens, LED and fluorescent lighting, and various other electronic devices.

When you think about it, blue light can actually be found any and every where you go. Usually the rays of the sun with short wavelengths and high energy frequency usually collide with air molecule to create blue light dispersion. Hence, our sky looks blue from the land. Blue light is usually used by the human body to regulate the natural wake and sleep cycles that allow humans to function properly. This phenomenon is known as the circadian rhythm, regulated by blue light. But blue light has some ill-effects as well.

Owing to the high energy frequency of blue light, the flicker rate is much higher than any other color in the spectrum, which causes diffused clarity, affects sharpness, and creates contrast related problems that might damage one’s vision in the long run.

This is a guest blog entry.