Blue light from smartphones speeds up blindness and impairs vision: Researchers from the University of Toledo, a city in the United States on the border with Canada, found that the blue light emanating from tablets and smartphones has a negative effect on the cells of our eyes. This leads to deterioration and even loss of vision.
Smartphones kill eyesight
Every day we use different equipment equipped with screens – from TVs to smartphones and computers. All displays without exception emit blue light and quite often we hear that such a glow can negatively affect our vision. Researchers at the University of Toledo were able to find the reason why smartphones are really detrimental to our vision. And the reason is just in this blue glow. Of course, it’s not just about smartphones, but they have become an integral part of our lives, and so great that we do not part with them in bed or even in the toilet.
And that’s why the innovations introduced by Google and Apple, which allow you to monitor the time spent in certain applications and how many times a day we raise the smartphone, can do us much more good than we thought initially.
All the blame for the blue light
Blue light from smartphones causes a toxic reaction in the retina molecules – those same photoreceptors that are sensitive to light and send signals to the brain. One of the areas of the retina called the macula or yellow spot carries over 80% of the light that comes into our eyes. And it is the macula that is most at risk.
The problem is that the blue color has a short wavelength because of what it carries in itself more energy and accordingly affects the sensitive receptors more strongly. Constant and prolonged contact with the display and blue light develops toxic molecules on the “yellow spot”, which in turn causes a malfunction in his work and leads to macular degeneration – a disease whose consequences are deterioration and even loss of vision. And all because of the fact that the destroyed molecules in the retina are not restored. That is why in recent years, most manufacturers of smartphones and tablets have introduced a new function in the display settings – a blue light filter. It allows you to reduce the amount of harmful glow in the dark, but you can not completely exclude blue light from the displays.
Drops from blindness
Scientists from the University of Toledo, in addition to the standard recommendations, which can be read below, hope to create special protective drops that can reduce the harm from the blue glow. Of course, this will take a certain amount of time and, of course, you can hardly come up with a panacea. But you can protect yourself from premature deterioration of vision. A splash of similar problems with the eyes fell on the 60th years of the last century, during the times of active development of television and mass sales of televisions. Today, the situation is exacerbated by smartphones, with which we spend much more time. And blue light not only has a detrimental effect on the eyesight, it causes irritation, which is why sleep deteriorates and the body’s ability to produce the hormone melatonin is suppressed. Therefore, scientists recommend not to take the smartphone in hand and do not watch TV 30 minutes before bedtime.
How to reduce harm from blue light
Prevention of the cold glow of the displays of our gadgets is simple: do not watch TV and do not dig into the smartphone in the dark, and wear sunglasses. The sun is also a source of blue light, so it’s important to protect the eyes in the daytime. In addition, try to reduce the amount of time that you spend with a smartphone in your hands. The new feature in iOS 12, as well as possible, allows you to analyze the time spent with the smartphone and set restrictions for certain applications. In Android Pie, this feature is also announced and it is already available in the beta version.
Obviously, the big players are aware of this problem and warning the pressure from the public and various organizations they introduce new functions into the devices. Do not neglect the blue light filter and do not abuse the time spent with various gadgets. Use the new capabilities of operating systems to monitor the interaction time and spend more time in the open air, communicating with people live.
