Commentary on “How Blue Light Affects Your Eyes”

Introduction

This blog post will serve as a direct commentary of the article, “How Blue Light Affects Your Eyes” by John Kane on the ANNRI website. The article answers many different questions regarding blue light and will serve as a great basis for connecting science with Gamer Advantage gaming glasses. The article begins by making an astounding claim that the average modern human spends 5,000 hours looking at screens, which is believable considering the relatively new role of computers and phones in addition to TVs from decades earlier. Given the emergence and prominence of new technology, it’s still unclear how reliance on it will affect humans in the long term. In the short term, the science behind blue light that this technology emits continues to take shape, and for both the short and long term, Gamer Advantage strives to offer protection to the gaming community and beyond.

Defining Blue Light

To better understand blue light, we must be able to define is. John Kane eloquently and concisely covers the concept below:

“Light is a result of electromagnetic particles which emit energy as they travel in waves of different length. If you look at a rainbow, you will see that visible light is a combination of several colors, of which one is blue light.

The naked human eye can see only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum of light. This small portion has a wavelength range between 400nm and 750nm. The nanometer (nm) is the unit of measure for the electromagnetic spectrum wavelength. 

Blue light constitutes the visible spectrum's first part, which has a short wavelength of about 400nm. Having a shorter wavelength means that blue light has higher energy.”

 From a Gamer Advantage perspective, our glasses protect eyes against blue light up to the 455nm level. This is the point where sleep cycles are affected, also harming general health and productivity. As the article mentions, blue light also comes from the sun which is healthy and “It can regulate our wake-sleep cycle and the biological clock. This type of light also plays a role in other basic brain functions, like cognitive performance, alertness, and the ability to remember.” However, as Kane also notes, “Although the blue light wavelengths' exposure we receive from screens is small, they tend to have long-term effects due to the screens' proximity and the length of time you are using the device. Thus, a report from Harvard Health Publishing called light from screens the dark side of blue light.”

Negative Effects of Blue Light

Gamer Advantage and John Kane believe in similar negative effects of blue light. Most notably, eye strain, everyday life interferences and an impact on sleep cycles. Regarding eye strain in particular, Kane noted, “Because blue light has very short wavelengths, it can cause a flickering sensation. The flicker is often linked to a glare effect that affects the visual contrast. This could make your eyes struggle to see clearly. As a result, images can lose their sharpness and clarity, which the eye needs to compensate for.” At Gamer Advantage, this at the top of the list of ailments we hear from gamers and work to combat. In one of our trials, 99.1% of those surveys reported eyes that were more relaxed indoors.

Melatonin, the neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for sleep, is something that blue light suppresses as well. The effects of not getting enough sleep are numerous including increased risk of obesity and a decline in productivity to name a few. Sleep has always been the best natural medicines since the beginning of time and protecting that is something at the core of our mission at Gamer Advantage. At a result, it has been shown that our glasses boost melatonin up to 95% in as little as 5 days. This has had a profound impact on the streamers we are partnered with and the gaming community that believes in the technology behind our glasses.

Concluding Thoughts

As a result of the information shared above, one of the recommendations shared by Kane as to how to combat blue light is to consider purchasing blue light glasses. Particularly with a clinically proven product backed by a lifetime warranty and 45-day Sleep Satisfaction Guarantee, Gamer Advantage could not be more confident in the solution that we’ve created for the gaming community. As a science-driven business, articles like Kane’s are helpful in clarifying what blue light is how it both helps and hurts. As we start 2021, Gamer Advantage could not be more excited to continue sharing our story, providing education about blue light and how we can help and most importantly, improving the health and wellness to those who put their trust in us.

Source:
https://anrri.com/blogs/education/blue-light-affects

Photo by Andrew Mantarro on Unsplash