How Blue Light is Both Good and Bad for You

How Blue Light is Both Good and Bad for YouAlthough you may not think so, visible light is complex. Whether your eyes are exposed to the sun, a lamp, computer, phone, or another type of digital device, it results in your eyes being exposed to various visible and invisible light rays. These have varying effects on your vision. For instance, while you probably know that sunlight contains rays that can tan or burn your skin, you may not know that sunlight also contains various types of light rays, each containing a different amount of energy. An example of this is blue light.

What Blue Light Is

Sunlight contains, red, green, yellow, orange, and blue light rays in various shades depending on the energy and wavelength of each individual ray (a.k.a. electromagnetic radiation). This light spectrum combines to create sunlight. Blue lights are short but powerful – containing a lot of energy within their wavelengths. This is why they’re known to contribute to digital eye strain, which is something that computer glasses that block out blue light can help with.

Why you Should be Aware of Blue Light

Blue light has both benefits and dangers to it. In this regard, here are some things that you should know:

  • You can’t escape blue light, it’s everywhere. This is because the main source of blue light is sunlight.
  • These are what make the sky look blue. Their short wavelengths are full of energy that looks blue. Since they scatter easier than any other light rays, they’re the ones that strike the atmosphere’s air and water molecules giving the sky its color.
  • Your vision doesn’t do a good job at blocking out blue light.
  • When your vision is exposed to blue light, the likelihood of you developing macular degeneration increases.
  • Blue light is also known to contribute to digital eye strain, which is why it isn’t good for you to spend a lot of time on your computer, smartphone, or other digital devices – especially before you go to bed at night.
  • Once you’ve had cataract surgery it becomes even more important for you to protect your eyes from blue light.
  • While it may seem like all blue light is bad, this isn’t true. In fact, having some blue light exposure is essential for good eye health. It’s known to make you more alert, help with your memory, improve your cognitive functioning, and elevate your moods. This is why light therapy is a beneficial way of treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Additionally, blue light helps regulate your body’s natural wakefulness and sleep cycle (a.k.a. circadian rhythm).

How to Protect Your Eyes from Blue Light

Using blue light filters will help protect your eyes. This includes things like:

  • Filters for when you use your smartphone, tablet, and computer screen prevent too much blue light from reaching your vision without affecting the display’s visibility.
  • Computer glasses can reduce blue light exposure. You can buy them without a vision prescription or have them included within your prescription eyeglasses themselves. This is especially important if you’ve already been diagnosed with presbyopia.
  • Glare-reducing and anti-reflective coatings are also available to block blue light from both sunlight and digital devices.
  • Photochromic lenses will help with both UV and blue light protection. They automatically darken in response to UV rays so you’re more comfortable and experience less glare.

Regardless of what type of optical equipment you need help with, VEI Company has you covered. We have nothing short of the best optical and ophthalmic equipment. We invite you to stop by and check out our selection to see for yourself why we have so many highly satisfied customers and why we honestly believe you should be next.

Picture Credit: Gilles Lambert

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