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Written by
Deborah Freudenmann BHSc
In our modern world, I believe an important question that we should start to ask is whether the constant exposure to technology and artificial light could actually be the cause of our health complaints?
Just take a brief moment to consider if you struggle or suffer from any of the below.
How often do you sit in front of a computer? How often do you look at your phone during the day and at night? Do you also have a tablet which you use? How often do you watch TV? Or simply sit at home with the lights on?
Many of the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation is absorbed and scattered by the earth’s atmosphere. A pivotal difference between natural and artificial light is its spectrum.
These different wavelengths influence our systems in very distinct ways, and both are essential to the balance of our body and mind. Our sunlight contains all different colours of the spectrum. Each of these colours have a different wavelength and therefore different energies associated.
The colours red, orange, and yellow also classified as warmer colours are low energy whereas the cooler colours like purple, blue and green all contain high amounts of energy.
Artificial light does not cover all spectrums as natural light does. While daylight varies all over the day – going from red to blue during midday and then back to red. Artificial lighting stays the same spectrum all day long and all night long.
Blue light is also being found in large quantities in artificial light of digital devices such as your smart phone, laptop and tablet as well as in office and house lighting.
Preto, S. (2019). Red or blue light? Which one is better? Is there a right answer? Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (Vol. 791). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94589-7_45
Blue light is a natural part of the sunlight spectrum, however when the dosage is too much it disrupts us, altering our circadian rhythm and everything that depends on it.
Blue light passes through the cornea and lens and reaches the retina and in the process may damage the retina or cells of the eyes. With the sun, blue light is balanced with red light and invisible infrared (IR) light which has been shown in some studies to heal and repair cellular damage.
As mentioned prior, since artificial light is devoid of this visible red light and invisible IR light we are exposed to blue light in isolation which can cause damage to the eye with no healing light present. This is what we call digital eye strain. Another major cause of digital eyestrain is flickering blue light. Almost all LEDs flicker – this can be found in computer screens, smart phones, tablets but also in office lighting and at home.
What are some symptoms of digital eyestrain?
Every year more than two million new cases of age-related macular degeneration are reported in the United States. Macular degeneration, an incurable eye disease that results in significant vision loss starting on average in a person’s 50s or 60s, is the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need molecules called retinal to sense light and trigger a cascade of signaling to the brain.
A study done at the University of Toledo found that blue light exposure causes the retina to trigger reactions that generate poisonous chemical molecules in our photoreceptor cells and eventually kills these cells.
Therefore, in our modern world it is important to know how we can protect ourselves from being overexposed to blue light. Alpha tocopherol, a vitamin E derivative and natural antioxidant in the eye and body can help halt the death of cells. Unfortunately, due to age and many other reasons our levels of Vitamin E can be low resulting in a loss of protection.
Supplementation of vitamin E as well as Zeaxanthin and lutein and wearing glasses (at certain times of the day) with a blue light filter is immensely beneficial.
Zeaxanthin is an antioxidant carotenoid found in your retina. It cannot be produced by the body and needs to be taken in through the diet or via supplementation. Lutein is found in your macular pigment, which helps protect your central vision and aids in blue light absorption. Lutein and xeaxanthin are primarily found in green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach being the highest) and orange and yellow coloured fruits and vegetables. Organic, pastured egg yolks are also a good source.
Both zeaxanthin and lutein are also found in high concentrations in your macula lutea and serve two primary roles such as absorption of excess photon energy and quenching of free-radicals before they damage our lipid membranes.
Our human body functions with the circadian rhythm, often referred to as our body clock. Our circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of our brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It’s also known as our sleep/wake cycle.
A part of your hypothalamus which is a portion of your brain controls your circadian rhythm. When the sun goes down, your eyes send a signal to the hypothalamus telling you it’s dark outside and time to get sleepy. This sends a cascade reaction as your brain tells your body to release the hormone melatonin which actually makes your body feel tired.
In essence the natural exposure to different light spectrums send the correct messages to our body clock (aka circadian rhythm) which keeps our hormone levels balanced within our bodies. Blue light, which we are exposed to during the day tells our body clock that it’s daytime! Just think of a bright blue sky. This blue blight communicates to our brain that we need to release hormones to be active such as cortisol, dopamine and serotonin.
When the sun sets and the outside gets dark our body clock knows that its night time and it prepares us for sleep by relaxing and unwinding. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent!
The absence of blue light after sunset allows our bodies to transform the serotonin made throughout the day into melatonin. HOWEVER, this is where the problem stems from. Most of us live in developed countries and no longer go to sleep when the sun sets. In our modern society we created artificial daytime by turning on our house lights, playing on our phones, switching on our TV… All of these and more contain high energy vibrational blue light.
A large body of research demonstrates the unhealthy impact of blue light on sleep and sleep-wake bio rhythms:
A published study on the use of blue light glasses for one week in bipolar disorder cases led to some incredible results among the participants. Those individuals who wore blue-blocking orange-tinted glasses from 6pm to 8am for seven days had significant improvements in various symptoms including mania compared to those who wore clear glasses. The biggest factor was that the improvements began just after three nights of use.
Research has demonstrated that blue light blocking glasses are actually really effective at filtering out the blue spectrum of light. Which as a result has improved and restored disturbed sleep and disturbed biological rhythms/systems.
Computer glasses are a form of blue light glasses that filter down blue light between 5-30%. These blue light glasses filter a small amount of blue light from passing through your eyes and reduce digital eyestrain, headaches and mild migraine’s. These are not blue light blocking glasses, they are computer glasses. They will not help you sleep but they will help you with digital eyestrain during the day from working at a desk job.
Remember you do not want to block blue light during the day as this will disrupt your natural biological rhythms, instead focus on filtering blue light down to help prevent digital eyestrain. Everyone working for a prolonged time on the computer will benefit from these glasses.
Yellow blue light glasses are the next step up in protection against damaging blue light during the day. They filter 50% of blue light which is better for people who have a sensitivity to blue light. A sensitivity to blue light may be shown in a person suffering migraine’s, severe headaches, stress, anxiety, fatigue or S.A.D. These people need extra blue light filtering during the day so they often opt for BLUblox SummerGlo blue light glasses. The yellow colour also helps to elevate mood which helps with conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression.
We need to ensure our evening environment is devoid of blue light and also green light. In order to achieve this optimally you need to wear a pair of blue light blocking glasses that block 100% of the light found between 400-550nm. The only product available that does this and has been scientifically proven to do this is BLUblox Sleep+ glasses. Simply wear these glasses 2-3 hours before bed to mimic ancestral times and get better sleep in just one use. Blue light blocking glasses that help with sleep are typically a deep orange or red colour. They are this colour as this colour is the only colour that can block 100% of light between 400 to 550nm.
It is the light spectrum that activates, promotes, interrupts and or stops our normal biological functioning. Therefore it is important to be aware and monitor how much artificial light exposure we are getting on a day to day basis.
Unfortunately many of our advances in the modern world such as LEDs, mood lighting in our homes, computers, screens, constant access to a digital phone… actually harm our bodies. So if we work in front of a computer all day, or are exposed to artificial light several hours in one go we can really start to see these symptoms appear. As a matter of fact, as I write this article.. I’ve noticed just how many symptoms I have actually experienced from staring at a screen all day.
Have you got blue light blocking glasses, if yes tell us what you think!
A quick fix is something that we all crave… whether it’s getting rid of your cold, or losing weight, or treating any chronic disease. We are always looking for a quick fix that will address the problem immediately without the need for us to put in much time or effort.
Sound familiar?
Question is… do these “quick fixes” actually get you long-term results? Are they sustainable?
“Hi, I’d love to hear your views on chemotherapy. Are you pro or anti-chemotherapy?”
My answer? I’m neither.
Confused with that answer? That’s exactly what this article is all about!
Chemotherapy is one of the conventional treatments recommended for patients with cancer. However, it is important to weigh the benefits of Chemotherapy against the risks it poses to be able to make the right decision…
Your poo habits can provide you with some very valuable information. Yes, I know this subject is still a little uncomfortable for some, but it’s just something you will have to get used to talking about. Your bowel motions can tell you a lot about the balance of bacteria in your gut, whether your body is detoxifying toxins properly, or how you are absorbing nutrients!
So, what does it mean when we have constipation?
It is commonly observed that some people tend to be more prone to develop health issues like infections and allergies more commonly than others.
Also, some people tend to develop more severe symptoms of infections or other diseases while some develop very mild symptoms that often require no treatment. These variations in the incidence of diseases could be explained with the help of the Terrain Theory vs Germ Theory.
Measuring your homocysteine levels is recommended for the early diagnosis of several disorders. The abnormal levels of homocysteine in the blood could provide insights into the potential risks of developing certain diseases.
In healthy circumstances homocysteine is broken down, however factors such as nutritional deficiencies, certain medications or conditions can lead to excess homocysteine levels. High homocysteine has been linked to various health issues such as atherosclerosis, stroke, diabetes complications, neurological diseases, osteoporosis, depression, erectile dysfunction and pregnancy complications…
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is one of the most dreaded, progressive neurodegenerative diseases that impact motor neurons. It is a slow but steady decline where the brain loses connection with your muscles resulting in an inability to eat, talk, walk, before eventually paralyses and respiratory failure take place.
In loving memory of Frank.
This article was inspired by a vibrant and beautiful family friend, Frank who passed away from ALS in 2020.
Here is a brief discussion about what ALS means and how the functional approach to the treatment of this condition can provide natural support to ease the symptoms.
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5 Responses
Very good article. Blue light and the Electromagnetic fields from the computer produce “the rouleau formation” of the blood (blood cells sticking together – unhealthy blood cells). Dr. Magda Havas – Canada Leading Scientist in The Field of EMR / Biological Effects of Electric Magnetic Fields has also demonstrated this in a short video, Live Blood & Electrosmog. Similarly, Dr. Klinghardt also talks about this.
I will add this article to my website.
Thanks,
Satesh Narain
Casas de Healing
Thank you kindly Satesh!
Best wishes
Very useful and complete. Thank You Deborah
Happy to hear you found it useful Livio. I absolutely love my blue light glasses while working on the computer! Warmest regards, Deborah