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Reduce Blue Light Exposure
Posted by: South Georgia / North Florida Eye Partners in Blog, News
If you experience headaches, tired and irritated eyes or even blurry vision after staring at a screen for any significant amount of time, it’s likely the result of digital eye strain caused by an excessive amount of blue light exposure.
Reducing blue light exposure can result in fewer headaches and better sleep. That’s right! Interestingly enough, our bodies use natural blue light, produced by the sun, to regulate our sleeping patterns, which is known as our circadian rhythm. But, exposing our eyes to excessive artificial blue light, produced from digital devices, tends to disrupt our circadian rhythm which means sleep disruption.
Devices which expose us to harmful artificial blue light include:
- cell phones
- computers
- tablets
- flat-screen televisions
Because these devices are used regularly and are increasing in popularity, children and adults are gradually being exposed to more and more sources of blue light and for longer periods of time. Our eyes do not have sufficient protection against blue light rays from the sun, let alone the blue light radiating from devices and screens.
Risks of Blue Light Exposure:
- Prolonged exposure to blue light can cause retinal damage and contribute to age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to loss of vision.
- Digital Eyestrain Syndrome: blurry vision, difficulty focusing, headaches, dry and irritated eyes, and neck and back pain
- Greater risk of cancers
For patients who wear glasses, we offer a lens coating to help block the harmful blue light; this is applied to new lenses and is not visible, similar to a non-glare coating. While lenses cannot be retrofitted, be sure to ask about the coating for blue light at your next eye exam for you or your child! Click here to find contact information for your local South Georgia / North Florida Eye Partners location.
