SPONSORED BY OcuShield
What is blue light?
Sunlight is made up of yellow, violet, red, orange, blue, green and indigo light which when combined, form white light. Each of the different rays of light has different energy and wavelengths.
On one hand of the visible light spectrum, there are the red light rays that have the longest wavelengths and the least energy while on the other hand, blue light rays which have the shortest wavelengths and highest energy.
White light has got a large component of blue rays. This exposes the eye to a higher amount of energy that can cause damage to light-sensitive cells since the rays penetrate all the way to the retina.
There are natural and artificial sources of blue light, and the natural source is sunlight. Artificial sources include:
- Fluorescent light
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs
- Led light
- Flat-screen LED televisions
- Computer monitors and smartphone screens.
It’s worth noting that the blue light exposure one gets from screens is less compared to that from the sun. However, prolonged exposure to these screens leads to adverse effects such as damage to the retinal cells, which may cause eye diseases amongst other negative effects as discussed below.
Problems with blue light
Digital eye strain syndrome:
This is a medical issue, also known as computer vision syndrome, with serious symptoms that can affect learning and work productivity. According to various research, eyestrain syndrome is commonly caused by prolonged use of computers and other digital gadgets.
Direct exposure to bright light is also another cause of this defect. Its symptoms include blurry vision, difficulty in focusing, dry and irritated eyes, headaches, neck and back pain. It not only affects adults. Children are also at risk for this because of their growing use of digital devices. Before the age of 10years, children’s eyes are not fully developed.
At this age, the crystalline lens and cornea are still largely transparent and overexposed to light, which makes children have a higher risk than adults. Today, children have more digital tools at their disposal than ever before – tablets, smartphones, e-readers, videogames are just among a few. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children and teenagers aged between 8 and 18 years spend more than 7 hours a day consuming electronic media.
Greater risk of certain types of cancer: Harvard researchers have linked working the night shift and exposure to blue light at night to several types of cancer including breast and prostate cancer. It is worth noting that blue light is the spectrum that signals the human clock in the brain and suppresses melatonin. As mentioned, melatonin is a hormone that plays an important role in maintaining the synchronization of the clocks in all human body cells. The disruption of these clocks is presumed to increase the risk of cancer.
Interference with your sleep
During the day, daylight keeps a person’s internal clock aligned with the environment. Exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle.
For instance, sleeping at night and staying awake during the day is a light-related circadian rhythm. Since blue light causes suppression of melatonin-levels production more than any other kind of light, prolonged exposure to it interferes with one’s sleep.
Greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity
According to research done by Harvard working at night and continuous exposure to blue light at night to diabetes. The researchers say this exposure to blue light could interrupt one’s system’s ability to process sugar, suggesting it may lead to diabetes.
Increased risk of depression
Night time lighting, specifically exposure to blue light, affects the circadian rhythm by inhibiting melatonin production. … Sleep disruption is also a classic symptom of major depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, and other mood disorders.
It may cause permanent eye damage
The lens in the adult human eye blocks nearly one hundred percent of the sun’s UltraViolet rays. When this happens, the eye’s natural lens also blocks some short-wavelength blue light as well. This type of light is most likely to cause damage to the retina by burning the photo-receptor cells and leading to macular degeneration and vision loss.
Fortunately, the vision doesn’t degrade as rapidly as it should thanks to alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol(a form of vitamin E) is an antioxidant molecule, which when present, reduces the damage caused by blue light and prevents cells from dying. Unfortunately, as human beings age, vitamin E levels dwindle, and we lose this protection.
The University of Toledo researchers suggested that continuous destruction of light-detecting cells in the eyes due to prolonged exposure to blue light could contribute to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness.
Ocushield products
Ocushield offers a wide variety of products with the blue light filter that improve sleep and protect your eyes. These products have no retro orange tinge and give a crystal clear picture. They include:
Anti-blue light glasses
These unisex glasses are FDA approved.They improve sleep & protect your eyes.They also provide a crystal clear picture with 94% plus clarity. They provide full UV Protection function,with added anti-glare and anti-fog,very suitable for professionals, commuters and gamers. A pair of glasses comes with a hard case and cleaning cloth.The measurements are – lens height: 43.5mm, nose bridge: 19mm and arm length: 143mm.
Anti-blue light screen protector for MacBook
This is infused privacy filter to stop prying eyes with anti-glare coating ensuring zero reflections. It’s also good for shared devices since it has antibacterial coating.
Anti-blue light screen protector for laptops, monitors and pcs
This protector shares the same qualities with that for MacBook.
Anti-blue light screen protector for the iPad
They have super-strong tempered glass to protect your screen and an applicator included, hence no need to worry about bubbles.
Anti-blue light screen protector for iPhone and Samsung
This improves sleep and protects your eyes. It also shares the same qualities with the Ipad screen protector.
Oculamps/study lamps
These are low blue light desk lamps with three settings controlled by the user.They are portable and with touch panel display, flexible base and are charged by micro USB which comes with the lamp. It uses lithium battery with a capacity is 2000mAh that lasts 20hours of light.
Benefits of Occushield products
Reducing screen time is a sure approach to protect the eyes against blue light. If less screen time isn’t doable given your lifestyle, filtering light remains as the only workable solution. This can be done by wearing glasses fitted with blue light filtering lenses and fitting our gadgets such as laptops and phones with anti-blue light protectors.
Ocushield makes the acquisition of these protectors and lenses easy since it provides accredited class 1 medical devices at affordable prices. The benefits of using these products are:
Quality Assurance
All of the Ocushield products are designed and developed by Optometrists in the UK. The products are medically-rated and accredited by the UK’s Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The only screen protector in the world to do so. The products sold today came up as a result of a well undertaken research project by optometrist Dhruvin who has won over 65,892 customers that translates to 131,784 healthier, happier, better-sleeping eyes.
Crystal clear screen quality
The orange hue which is emitted from devices in night mode filters comes as a direct result of the way light is emitted from the screens. This is totally different from the way physical filters such as Ocushield work. Each wave in the electromagnetic spectrum has a different length and the shorter the length, the greater the energy of the wave.
Within the visible light spectrum, blue light has the shortest wavelength. Therefore it produces a very high amount of energy, which is the reason it can be very harmful to your eyes and health. The reason night mode filters cause the phone screen to turn an orange shade is that the blue light spectrum has been actively removed from your display.
However, physical filters such as Ocushield do not make the screen appear orange as they instead absorb the blue light which leaves your phone. This results in a blue-light free screen, with no discolorations. The Ocushield screen protector blocks blue light emissions while retaining the same crystal-clear screen quality and colour at all times.
Also, night mode filters have to be switched on manually by the user, which in most cases people often forget. Once you have the protector on your screen there won’t be a need to worry about switching to night mode.
Eye Protection
The provided screen filters for smartphones, iPads, tablets, and computers decrease the amount of blue light given off from these devices screens that could reach the retina in the eyes hence prevent damage of the light-sensitive cells. Filtering blue light prevents eye strain when using digital devices. It reduces eye fatigue, screen flickering, and screen brightness.
Improved health
When blue light is filtered and melatonin production is enhanced, interference with circadian rhythms is corrected. When this happens, problems with the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems, disturbing mood, and compromising cognitive function are also corrected. Hence one thinks, feels, and performs at their best and over time, their health improves.
Research published in Chronobiology International in 2009 found dramatic improvements in insomnia and mood in close to half of bipolar patients who used blue-blocking glasses.
Improved sleep
A blue light filter reduces the quantity of blue light displayed on the screen of the device used. While light of any kind can prohibit the secretion of melatonin, blue light does so more powerfully.
Filtering blue light out will help one sleep better. This will also reduce digital eye strain. Exposure to artificial light, being a modern time invention, may be dreadfully affecting our biology. For the most part of history, people slept and rose with the sun. Hence, their circadian rhythm was effortlessly controlled by sunlight and moonlight.
Now, we experience light at all times of day and night. Therefore, to have a good sleep, we have to come up with a way of getting back to normalcy. Ocushield provides products that filter blue light and improve sleep.
Improved workplace performance
With correct circadian rhythms, one feels and performs at his best. Productivity is reduced in the sense that, numerous studies have shown evidence to suggest blue light is linked to certain types of cancer, depression, diabetes, and obesity. These are just a few of the harmful conditions that may affect staff due to blue light. Ultimately, this results in a higher number of employees taking time off work.
If the impact on productivity is not enough to cause employers concern, then the risk of employees taking leave every time should. These are the reasons why managers need to purchase blue light filters for their employees.
Help for night shift workers
Sleep is very key for our bodies to rest, repair and re-energize for a new day’s activities. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule helps one to stay on a healthy track. However, upholding a good sleep balance can be a challenge, especially for those working at night. Be it a nurse, security personnel, a consultant or a customer service attendant working at night, getting inadequate sleep during the day could be attributed to prolonged blue light exposure emitted from the screens.
Shift workers are at an especially high risk for biological time disruptions, because of their non-traditional schedules. Sleep-deprived workers are prone to an increased risk of workplace accidents, but research shows that night shift workers face these occupational hazards at nearly three times the national rate.
Hence, eye protection using blue light filtering glasses will tremendously benefit your overall health. These types of glasses protect against the digital eye strain syndrome that comes with the symptoms of blurry vision, migraines, and headaches, interference of sleep, etc. This will also reduce occupational hazards experienced as a result of these effects.
Social responsibility
Lastly, for every order placed by a customer, Ocushield donates 1 to Fight For Sight eye research charity. This means that the future is covered since the research findings will help in coming up with better solutions for these effects of blue light.
