Now I’m sure most of you are like me.
Your phone is attached to you…you check it constantly, when you’re bored you’re
trawling the internet on your phone, and research suggests that most of us even take it to the
toilet to keep occupied while we do our thing!
On top of all this, many of us take our phones to bed at night and spend a good chunk of
time reading on our devices prior to going to sleep.
There is an underlying issue with this - at night, artificial light can throw our body’s
clock out of sync, but not all colours of light have the same effect on us.
In particular, blue wavelengths are the most disruptive to our bodies at night.
Blue light is necessary during the daytime, but can wreak havoc on our bodies after dark.
Receiving blue light from the sun during the day helps us to remain alert and focused,
allowing us to perform optimally and keep our spirits high.
The problem is that energy-efficient modern light bulbs as well as the screens of electronic
devices also produce large amounts of blue wavelength light, increasing our exposure
particularly after the sun has set.
Darkness is nature’s cue to the body that it’s time to start winding down for sleep,
which tells the brain to start secreting the hormone/chemical ‘melatonin’.
The problem specifically with blue wavelengths of light at night is that they are the most
disruptive in suppressing the production of melatonin, which makes it harder to fall asleep
and even be able to achieve good quality sleep once you doze off.
Because our bodies aren’t receiving the proper signals that it is time to start feeling
tired and go to sleep, there can be severe short and long term repercussions to our health
– not only from poor quality sleep, but also from a melatonin deficiency in the body.
Studies have linked melatonin suppression at night with a vast array of health issues
including metabolic syndrome, obesity, depression, and even cancer.
Also, changes to our sleep patterns can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, which is our
natural body clock.
Studies have shown that disruptive patterns to the circadian rhythm can be extremely detrimental
to the body as it not only controls our state of being awake, but also various internal
body locks that dictate the function of the body’s organs.
Therefore, factors disrupting our circadian rhythm, such as blue light exposure, may be
far more devastating to our health than previously thought.
Sleep is considered as one of the ‘pillars of optimal health’, deemed as crucial as
diet and exercise.
Sleep deprivation is linked to many serous negative effects.
Periods of sleep that are consistently shorter than 7 hours have been associated with diabetes,
depression, cardiovascular disease, memory and learning issues, as well as car accidents
and workplace injuries due to reduced alertness and cognitive function.
Getting sufficient quality sleep each night is an under-appreciated and crucial step to
improving your overall health.
So what can we do about this, and in particular, address the issue of blue light exposure at
night?
Experts suggest switching off our devices two hours prior to going to bed…obviously
this isn’t the most practical advice for most of us in the modern world.
It’s a bit like telling us to never drive or ride in a car to reduce your chance of
being in a car accident.
Fortunately, there are some simple measures which can be taken to reduce your blue light
exposure at night, and allow the body to start its wind-down routine for sleep.
To tackle the smartphone or computer use at night, there are programs and apps which can
be downloaded free of charge, which place sort of a red filter on the screen, restricting
blue wavelengths of light.
As red wavelengths are the least disruptive to melatonin production and the circadian
rhythm, using these programs while lowering the brightness of the device can allow you
to use these devices as normal, while improving your chances of good quality sleep during
the night.
On iPhones and computers, a program called f.lux can be downloaded to achieve this.
On Android devices, and app called Twilight will perform the same function.
Many scientists recommend using blue-blocking glasses or goggles prior to sleep, especially
for those working night shift.
Again, while I’m sure this would be an effective solution on the one hand and beneficial to
those wearing them, I don’t consider it a viable option for the average person, as
I’m just not going to wear stupid looking goggles every night…just seems extreme to
me.
As I said though, if it suits your lifestyle and works for you, all the power to you.
Try using a dimmable bed lamp in your bedroom for the couple of hours leading to bed time,
rather than turning on the main room light bulb.
A warm coloured dim light will be far more effective in telling your brain that sleep
time is approaching.
In the same vein, try avoiding bright bathroom lights when brushing your teeth or having
a shower before bed time.
Can you use a dimmable lamp instead?
How about leaving the door open, and using a light in an adjacent room or hallway to
give you a semi-dark environment.
If the room where you sleep also has a high amount of light seeping in through the windows
such as street lamps or vehicle headlights, maybe consider sleeping with a sleep mask.
There are many comfortable options out there on the market.
These small changes to your pre-bed routine can have a dramatic effect on your amount
and quality of sleep, leading to improvements in your overall health.
Remember to ensure that you get plenty of blue light during the day, primarily from
the sun.
Every morning, when we’re indirectly exposed to the sunlight, our circadian rhythm resets,
aligning the body’s internal clock with this natural light.
To ensure this occurs optimally, it is recommended that we get outside for 15mins in the morning
– a great excuse for a morning walk to start the day!
As you can see, something as simple as the light that hits your eyes can have drastic
control over many functions of the body, and have long lasting effects to your health,
whether good or bad.
I hope that this topic peaked some interest and made you consider your own routines as
a way to create a positive change in your lives.
As I’m not a medical professional, I recommend that you conduct some further research if
this topic interests you.
Just Google ‘blue light sleep effects’, and you’ll find many articles covering the
scientific aspects behind this subject.
Topics like these are always sure to spark debate, so please feel free to have some constructive
discussion in the comments below.
And as always, I hope you enjoyed the video, please subscribe to the channel to be in the
loop for new video releases at Ratalyst.
Be the change.