There’s evidence that the blue light your eyes take in when you’re looking at a screen can sabotage your sleep and mental health, cause eyestrain (and crows feet), and can even damage your skin. I say no to premature wrinkles. However, it’s not all bad. Blue light is naturally produced by the sun (it’s what makes the sky look blue), and is incredibly beneficial and necessary for natural circadian rhythms and regulating our sleep and wake cycles. Natural sunlight in the morning is known to increase your alertness, elevate moods and increase your overall feeling of well-being. My hot tip? Sit outside in the mornings with your tea and soak up those rays, but leave the sunglasses inside.
From your nine-to-five job to your food-filled Instagram feed and the occasional night-time Netflix-binge session, you’re likely spending most of your day looking at one screen or another. It’s okay, we all do it. But since discovering the (pretty major) downsides of our technological habits, I have delved deeper into ways we can minimize the disruptive effects that artificial blue-light has on our sleep and our natural circadian rhythms. Because if there’s one thing I enjoy more than a Netflix binge…. It’s a restful nights sleep.
It’s the artificial sources, including laptops, phones & televisions, even fluorescent or LED lights that can be harmful. Too much exposure to these, particularly at night-time, aka social media peak hour, it can suppress the secretion of melatonin; one of the hormones that influences our circadian rhythms.
We’ve got two options here… To reduce the amount of screen time during our days, or at least at night; I don’t know about you, but easier said than done when the Bachelor is on. Switching on ‘Night Mode’ on your phone is a free and simple hack too.
Or invest in some ‘blue-blocker’ glasses; they have special lenses that filter out the harmful blue light, reducing the disruptive impact on our sleep.
Our fave, superchic option is Baxter Blue.
