The Reason for Your Poor Sleep May Be Blue Light!

A survey report on the sleep status of more than 15,000 people in 13 countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, France, India, China, Australia, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan) was released on World Sleep Day. The report shows : 30.9% of people need more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, 0.9% of people need drugs to help them fall asleep. Even if we have enough sleep time, it often takes us a long time to fall asleep. Is your sleep okay? What is affecting our sleep? How do anti uv and blue light glasses, blue light filter and anti glare glasses, and blue light safety glasses protect our eyes?

The effect of blue light on sleep

A joint experiment conducted by the Institute of Behavioral Sciences of Radboud University, the Eindhoven Research Center in the Netherlands, and the Department of Sports Science at the University of Auckland pointed out that reducing blue light exposure before going to bed at night can shorten the time to fall asleep and improve sleep quality. It will also increase the alertness of the next morning and the ability to deal with things.

Studies by American scientists have shown that exposure of human eyes to the blue light emitted by electronic products during bedtime will destroy our daily cycle biological clock and affect the circadian rhythm in our body. Researchers also believe that because TVs, computers, and tablet screens mainly use white LED light, compared to traditional incandescent lamps, the blue light emitted by electronic products will damage the body's natural circadian rhythm more severely.

Why blue light affects vision and sleep

There is a kind of photoreceptor cells on the retina of the eye, called "retina-specific photoreceptor ganglion cells" (ipRGCs). It contains a newly discovered photoreceptor protein called substantia nigra, which produces a series of chemical reactions to light, causing ipRGC cells to discharge under light. This cell does not form vision, but is directly transmitted to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus through the optic nerve and participates in regulating the circadian rhythm. This photoreceptor is connected to the biological clock in the human brain, and the light it receives inhibits the pineal gland from secreting melatonin. Melatonin is also called the "sleeping hormone". When the amount of melatonin in the human body reaches a certain level, people will feel tired and drowsy.

With the advent of smartphones, computers, iPads, and TVs, there is often sufficient light at night, making the pineal gland mistakenly believe it is daytime and not letting melatonin secrete. As mentioned above, the electronic products we often use at night, their electronic screens are almost rich in short-wave blue light, and the photoreceptor retinal ganglion cells-ipRGC, responsible for receiving ambient light information, are particularly sensitive to this short-wave blue light. Blue light inhibits the secretion of melatonin by the pineal gland through ipRGC cells, and the secretion of melatonin is inhibited or delayed, which can lead to reduced sleepiness, increased alertness, delayed sleep onset, and reduced sleep efficiency.

The screen is not the source of sleep, but the blue light emitted by the screen is the culprit that affects sleep. Reasonable choice of anti-glare blue light blocking glasses, anti blue reading glasses, computer radiation protection glasses and other anti-blue light products is our first choice.