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What is Blue Light?

All light is made up of electromagnetic particles that travel in waves. These waves emit energy, ranging in length and strength. However, our eyes are more sensitive to the part of the light spectrum that includes visible light.

Blue light is a visible form of light that has the short and highest energy wavelength, making it the most harmful light affecting our eyes.

How Does Blue Light Affect Our Eyes?

Blue light when not properly filtered can result in vision fatigue, eye strain and headaches. It also has been proven to suppress the secretion of melatonin, resulting in ill-regulated sleep and an interrupted circadian rhythm.

Prolonged exposure to blue light may also cause, or increase the risk of macular degeneration. Blue light’s wavelengths can penetrate all the way back to the retina which can cause damage to the light sensitive cells within.

The Difference Between Natural and Artificial Blue Light

There are very short and high energy blue wavelengths from the sun and they collide with the air molecules causing blue light to scatter everywhere – this actually is what makes the sky appear blue.

In natural form the sun configures your circadian rhythm using blue light to control your sleep and wake cycles. It also helps raise alertness, increase reaction times, elevate your mood and boosts your feeling of well being.

Artificial sources of blue light include electronic devices such as cell phones and laptop computers, as well as energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs and LED lights. As technology has developed and more of our day to day lives revolve around this technology and screens, we have become more and more exposed to artificial blue light.

Why is Blue Light a Problem Now?

If blue light has been around naturally for years, why then has it become a problem only recently?

Our exposure to artificial blue light in recent years has increased immensely. Between all of our devices with bright back-lit screens to the fluorescent and LED lighting that have also become huge parts of our lives, we are looking into or around artificial blue light the majority of our day.

Previously, before the inundation of screens and technology, our blue light exposure was limited to daylight and times that we wanted to be energized and awake. Nowadays we are exposed much more frequently and at times when we naturally would not be exposed to blue light.

Is a Blue Light Coating a Good Fit for You?

If you are in harsh office lighting throughout your day or have your eyes locked onto one screen or another then asking your optometrist or optician if a blue light coating would suit your lifestyle is a great option! All of our lens options from all of our labs have an option of the safety coating, so there is a blue light coating for everybody!

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SPEX By Ryan provides Regina , Saskatoon and area with an alternative point of view on the eyewear experience, specializing in independent fashion and technology. Ryan Horne, a staple in the eyewear community for over two decades, has introduced a fascinating world of independent eyewear and technology to Saskatchewan, bringing in the world’s finest eyewear collections to our small city.