Blue Light & Your Sleep Cycle – What The Experts Say

LEICESTSHIRE, U.K. - Nov. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- "Light is the most powerful synchroniser of your internal biological clock," Prof Charles Czeisler, from Harvard University told the BBC in a recent interview on the subject.
He said energy efficient LED light bulbs as well as smart-phones, tablets and computers had high levels of light in the blue end of the spectrum which is "right in the sweet spot" for disrupting your body clock.

"Light exposure, especially short wavelength blue-ish light in the evening, will reset our circadian rhythms to a later hour, postponing the release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin and making it more difficult for us to get up in the morning.

"It's a big concern that we're being exposed to much more light, sleeping less and, as a consequence, may suffer from many chronic diseases."

The Need For More Sleep

Dr Akhilesh Reddy, from the University of Cambridge, said the body clock influences every biological process in the human body and the health consequences of living against the clock were "pretty clear cut", particularly in breast cancer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23144742).

He said: "Try to live more rhythmically, in tune with the environment and not have too much bright light before bedtime because it will affect the clock and sleep."

Prof Andrew Loudon, from the University of Manchester, said: "The problems caused by living against your body clock may be less sexy than the countless 'this or that causes cancer stories' it is none-the-less a major problem for society."

"You might not notice any short-term changes in your health following circadian disruption, but over a long period of time, the consequences could be quite severe”.

Professor Paul Gringras of Evelina Chrildren’s hospital in London argued that filters should be used to reduce blue light that delays the body clock and keeps people awake later into the evening. The child sleep specialist  said Smartphones, tablets and e-readers are disrupting people's sleep, and that every new model was "bluer and brighter". Prof Gringras was part of a study, published in Frontiers in Public Health (http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2015...), analysing the light emitted by devices.

"All the experts confirm that there is converging data to say if you are in front of one of these digital devices at night-time it could prevent you falling asleep by an extra hour." Said Optometrist Mohammed Bhojani from Visual Answers – He also said there are some sleep-aware apps had already been designed to reduce blue-green light emissions, but the most effective currently and scientifically tested  blue-light filters were Occushield screen protectors that have been designed for I phones and Ipads., tahr reduce blue light emission by 25%. Alternatively Crizal Prevncia optical lenses also reduce harmful blue-violet light emission by 25% and offers added retinal protection too.

Ocushield filters and screen protectors are Prevencia blue light ophthalmic filters are available from Visual Answers Optometrists Loughborough. Call Quorn 01509 414151 or Barrow 01509 416800 for more information or request our leaflet on the Blue Light Hazard.