Blue Light Eye Protection - Act Today to Gain Benefits
Blue light protection can enhance long-term eye health.
With more exposure to blue light today than at any time in history, it is extremely important for us to take proactive steps toward securing blue light eye protection for ourselves, and for our families.
This is not simply a feel-good proposition; It is a very real preventative measure that can play a key role in enhancing our long-term eye health.
Potential exposure to dangerous blue light rays is present everywhere we turn. In our personal and professional lives, and in the areas of our work, our education and our entertainment, blue light is right there every day. It cannot be totally avoided.
Blue light enters our eyes naturally, as part of the full spectrum of sunlight. It is most present when the sky is clear, in the mountains, at sea, and around noon.
Additionally, the amount of time we spend on electronic and digital devices —including desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets — is growing exponentially. And these electronic devices are proven via scientific studies to emit high levels of blue light rays.
There also are the hazards of being exposed to fluorescent and LED lighting, artificial light sources shown to emit blue light rays.
Blue light by its nature is quite dangerous. It is one of the shortest, highest-energy wavelengths within the visible light spectrum. Exposure to these high-energy blue light wavelengths has been proven to cause long- and short-term damage to the eyes, as well as other serious health issues.
Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, as well as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, attention deficit disorder and macular degeneration, are some of the health problems associated with blue light exposure.
Appropriate blue light eye protection can help ward off all these potential health problems.
Blue light flickers more easily than longer, lower-energy light wavelengths. This flickering — and glaring — causes eye strain, headaches, and mental fatigue and impacts our ability to sleep well.
Ignoring these blue light effects is not a feasible option.
Our eyes’ natural filters are not sufficient in providing blue light protection from the sun and from artificial lighting and electronic and digital devices. So, additional blue light eye protection is required.
Efforts to increase our blue light eye protection are as important as scheduling regular visits with our family doctor and getting annual physicals.
While reducing our usage of digital devices sounds like a good idea in theory, it is much more difficult to actually put into practice. And we cannot stay out of natural sunlight or avoid artificial lighting known to emit blue light.
Blue light eye protection is easily accessible and affordable.
“Installing blue light reduction lamps and using digital screen filters are two of the most effective means of blue light eye protection available,” said Dr. Edward J. Huggett, who formerly served as eye physician for the Toronto Blue Jays. “Plus, monitoring the length of time we spend in artificial lighting, on computers and on other digital devices will most definitely have a positive impact on our long- and short-term eye health.”
Dr. Huggett said that blue light reduction (BLR) lamps and digital screen filters provide adequate blue light eye protection. These products effectively filter blue light, so less of it reaches our eyes’ retinas, which can be toxic.
Dr. Huggett added that understanding the need for blue light eye protection is more than half the battle.
“For many people, the true dangers of blue light exposure are not fully understood,” said Dr. Huggett. “But, in fact, blue light eye protection is a necessity these days, and it is something that everyone should seriously consider.”
