You lubricate your skin with sun products against ultraviolet light from the sun. You put on sunglasses to protect your eyes against this same light. But why don’t we protect us against blue light? Blue light is all around us, from sunlight to artificial light. Artificial light is emitted by amongst others smartphones, tablets, computers, TV’s and lamps. Blue light may contain less energy than ultraviolet light, but in contrast to UV light – which is absorbed most by the front part of the eye – blue light reaches even the retina. This messes with our biological clock, and this in turn has a bad impact on our sleep.
Positive aspects of (blue) light
Scientific research has shown that light has a biological effect on our body. It contributes inter alia to regulate our hormones. The hormone melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of our sleep / wake cycle, and the energy of light that we need for this process, is largely absorbed by our eyes. Most importantly, it determines when our body prepares to stay awake and be productive, and that if we are tired, we can go to sleep. The main signals to which our biological clock adjusts, are daylight and darkness.
Effect of blue light on our biological clock
Not all of the light is the same. The light of a blue wavelength, stimulate the sensors in our eyes in order to send signals to the internal clock of your brains. Receiving blue light during the day – especially from the sun – is very important. It helps us to stay alert, while it also improves our performance and our mood. But even though blue light is incredibly beneficial during the day, in the evening it has the opposite effect.
The problem is that modern lamps and electronic devices produce large amounts of blue light and let our brain think it’s still daytime. So the use of smartphones, tablets and computer screens in the evening are disastrous for our sleep. By gradually reducing the amount of light before bed, and a complete absence of using devices two hours before we go to sleep, we can avoid all this disturbance of our sleep.
Blue light thickens
According to researchers from Manchester University blue light emitted among devices can even cause weight gain. The light disturbs the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Only by sleeping in pitch darkness hormones can convert food properly into energy. Even charging your smartphone can disrupt the production of melatonin. The best tip is to remove all your devices from your bedroom.
Protect your eyes and your mobile device
Do you still want to watch one more episode of your favorite Netflix series before going to sleep? Then choose Avanca ToughGlass Blue Ray for your iPhone or iPad. This not only protect your eyes from harmful blue light, but also your mobile device from bumps, cracks and scratches. Avanca ToughGlass is made of top quality tempered Japanese glass, an ultra-thin sheet of glass that you ‘glue’ to your device. Through a careful 10-step process and four years of experience in developing products we obtain this incredibly strong, yet flexible glass protector. The scratch-free surface of the glass is extremely hard and easily resists keys or even a knife. In case you accidently drop your device, Avanca ToughGlass absorbs the impact of the shock, so your screen won’t burst or break.
