Modern technology has given the world many gadgets that make life easier. Some of these gadgets come with a price to your health. While there is much debate on whether or not cell phones are causing cancer, the effect of blue light on your eyes and general health is not debatable. If you work on a computer all day, use your cell phone to surf the web and do other research, and use a tablet to read the latest novels, you need to protect your eyes from the blue light these devices emit.

Understanding the Problem with Blue Light

The visible light spectrum is made up of light rays of all the colors of a rainbow. Each color has a different wavelength and amount of energy. The longer the wavelength, the less energy it emits. The colors on the red, orange, yellow, and green end of the spectrum are considered the longer wavelengths and therefore have less energy than those on the blue, indigo, and violet side. The short wavelength and high amount of energy in the rays from the blue end of the visible spectrum scatter easily. This is why the sky is blue. This scattering also allows the rays to penetrate the human eye more readily than red lights. As the light rays pass through to the retina, they damage the light-sensitive cells in the eye. This can lead to vision problems and eventually to blindness. In addition to vision problems, staring at a device that emits blue light waves, such as a computer, cell phone, or tablet, just before going to bed can affect your sleep patterns.

Protecting Yourself

Obviously, if your job entails a lot of computer time, you cannot avoid the blue light there. You could stop using your cell phone for anything other than making phone calls and resort to physical books, magazines, and newspapers for any reading you do to reduce the amount of blue light your eyes receive every day. To keep using all your devices and protect your eyes, you have a few options.

Turn on any blue shield features the device offers. While it might take a while to get used to the new screen color, it will save your eyesight.

Purchase a blue light filter. These filters are available to be placed over most of the different screen sizes from cell phone screens to large, flat television screens.

Use computer glasses. These glasses can be worn to reduce the amount of blue light passing through your eye and back to the retina.

Keep in mind that it is especially important to use the protection later in the evening, like if you are reading on your tablet in bed.

If you do not want to end up with major vision problems that could cause you to lose your sight, be sure to take advantage of any and all blue light protection available. It is not a joke—it is real and it is serious. For more information, contact local professionals like Macuhealth.