How blue light damages your vision…
You have known for years that ultraviolet (UV) light can damage your skin and prematurely age the front of your eyes and the surrounding skin. It can cause cataracts, requiring surgery. UV light is the burning rays of the sun, and while you cannot see them, they are at work cooking your eyeballs!
Right next to ultra-violet light in the electromagnetic spectrum, the scale for measuring energy, we find high energy visible light. It turns out that this blue light is even more dangerous to your eyes.
Blue light is broken into two categories.
The high energy light reaches deep into the eye and is absorbed in the macula, the area of your most acute vision. This causes an oxidation in your retina leading to significant and irreparable central vision loss, known as Macular Degeneration. Cases of Macular Degeneration are expected to double over the next 30 years.
Sleep loss
The longer wave lengths of blue light suppress the production of melatonin in your brain. Melatonin is the chemical that makes you drowsy and ready for sleep. Normally as the sun goes down, melatonin is released and your body prepares for rest. Blue light tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime and disrupts your sleep cycle.
Health concerns
Blue light has beneficial effects. It can boost your attention, increase your reaction times and improve your mood. But its disruptive effects on your daily circadian rhythms have been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even certain cancers.
More blue light
Fluorescent and halogen light bulbs use less electricity, but are high in blue light emissions. The Federal Government mandated the introduction of florescent both at home and at work. That increases your exposure to this dangerous light.
Blue light brightens things. Knowing this, the manufacturers of televisions, computer monitors, tablets and cell phones use this light to brighten the screens on their products. If you spend a lot of time using any of these devices in the evening, that normal mechanism for winding down is disrupted and you may have trouble sleeping!
Higher risk for children
Kids are at a higher risk because they generally spend more time with electronics. Their shorter arms mean devices are held closer, increasing their exposure. Kids spend more time outdoors increasing their exposure to naturally occurring blue light. Schools, libraries and indoor sports facilities are lit with fluorescent lights, increasing your child’s exposure to blue light. The internal lens in a young eye is clearer allowing more blue light to flood the retina. Finally the detrimental effects of blue light exposure are cumulative, meaning the more years of exposure the more damage that will be done. (see “Lenses For Kids”)
The answer
Talk to your Parrelli Optical® eye care professionals. Discuss your work and play activities. Allow us to show you what innovative design and the latest technology can do to protect your vision, improve your comfort and even give you a better night’s sleep. We can sit you in front of one of our computers and prove to you that you will be more comfortable with blue light blocking lenses. But, more importantly these lenses will protect your delicate retina and preserve your sight for many years to come.
There are many ways to absorb and reflect blue light. Your Parrelli Optical® eyecare professional will help you choose between the varieties of selective blue light filtering lens coatings. Or perhaps the newest lens innovations using synthetic ocular lens pigments to protect your retina will be the best choice for you. We will design the proper lens to eliminate the damaging wavelengths of blue light using the newest innovations and the latest technology especially for you. What else would you expect from Parrelli Optical®?
You can trust your eye care to the knowledgeable professionals at Parrelli Optical®
