Protecting Our Health from Blue Light Emissions of Digital Displays

1.   Sleep Disruptions

One of the most well-documented effects of blue light exposure is its influence of our sleep-wake cycle, also called our circadian rhythm. This natural process occurs in harmony with the sun. Our bodies produce melatonin (a “sleep hormone”) in response to decreased blue light at night, causing us to feel sleepy. As the sun rises, the increased blue light exposure decreases our melatonin production causing us to feel more awake and alert during the day.

The use of digital displays in the evening increases blue light exposure and postpones our body’s melatonin production, disrupting our ability to sleep easily and deeply. And, poor sleep is linked to poor mental and physical health. 

2.    Eye Strain & Disease

Many people report eye strain after staring for long periods of time at screens. This is often referred to as “computer vision syndrome”, which includes symptoms such as eye discomfort and fatigue, blurry vision, dry eyes, and even headaches. Other symptoms include double vision, eye redness, itchy eyes, or watery eyes. The severity of these symptoms tends to correlate with the amount of time we’ve stared at a digital display.

Additionally, health professionals and researchers warn that a lifetime of blue light exposure from digital displays may be linked to an increased risk of macular degeneration and retinal damage. Though this hypothesis hasn’t been proven, many studies indicate that there’s good cause for concern. 

Finally, sufferers of a rare eye disease, Visual Snow Syndrome, have reported increased symptoms after staring at backlit digital displays. For this reason, many have switched to only using reflective display technologies such as e-paper displays to reduce their exposure to the LED light emitted from common displays.

3.   Psychological Effects

1.   Take Breaks

One way to do this is to take breaks and/or limit the amount of time we spend in front of screens. Those of us who work in front of a computer can take 15-to-20-minute breaks every few hours and maintain good posture at our desks. This can reduce eye strain and computer vision syndrome. When we’re outside of work, we can limit the amount of time we spend sitting in front of more blue light emitting devices.

2. Eat A Healthy Diet

Remember your friend, B-carotene? Carrots contain a lot of it. It’s also used in retinol and Vitamin A treatments. Research has shown that carotenoids like B-carotene, plus other antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, are vital in helping prevent early onset of acute macular degeneration (AMD). This is the case, even with increased blue light exposure. It’s just one more reason to eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and veggies.

3. Use Blue-Light Reduction Settings & Products

Using sunglasses during the day helps to block the UV and HEV blue light emissions from the sun, although they can make screen viewing difficult. We can try wearing blue light blocking glasses or applying blue light blocking filters to our device screens. Additionally, many of today’s computer monitors and electronic devices have blue-light reduction and/or “night mode” settings which can minimize blue light emissions.

The downside to these methods is that they can tint or skew color accuracy on the display. This is less than ideal for designers, but for most everyone else it’s not a bad tradeoff. 

4. Use Reflective Color LCD Displays

Due to increasing awareness and symptoms related to prolonged screen use, more and more consumers are choosing tablets, monitors, and even smart phones with Reflective LCD technologies. Instead of using LEDs to illuminate the display, a reflective color LCD reflects ambient light back to the viewer. The resulting level of blue light exposure is likely equivalent to what is reflected off any other surface, and many users have even reported eye symptom relief from this switch.

In addition to its potential health benefits, there are many other advantages of reflective color LCD technologies including excellent sunlight visibility and ultra-low energy consumption - up to 95% less than competing LCD technologies. Until recently, however, the switch to Reflective LCD devices has come with some sacrifices in color performance, refresh rates, and cost. The newly released Sun Vision Display 32" RLCD Computer Monitors feature a patented Color RLCD Technology which is 100% reflective (no backlight) yet provides full-color, HD-resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate performance: The user experience is unlike any other Reflective LCD monitor on the market!

As time goes on and blue light awareness increases, Reflective LCD products will likely advance in capabilities, performance, and affordability.