What Is Blue Light?

Nowadays, many people spend hours staring at screens at work, at home, and even outdoors. Do you love swiping and scrolling on social media? Do you watch TV for hours at a time? Are you always reading work reports on your laptop? Whatever the case, you need to understand that blue light emanating from digital screens can harm your eyes.

Experts link blue light from electronics to eye problems such as dry eye, cataracts, eyestrain, macular degeneration, and blurry vision. Some people also experience sleep issues after staring at a computer screen, TV, smartphone, or tablet for several hours.

The first thing you need to understand is that visible light contains a wide range of energy and wavelengths. One part of the visible light band, blue light, contains the highest energy. Due to its high energy, it has more potential to harm your eyes than other types of visible light.

When all visible light wavelengths combine, the result is white light. On a smog-free, clear day, sunlight is a full-spectrum, natural white light. White light contains several main color bands. These include

Red
Blue
Orange
Yellow
Green

Relationship Between Light Wavelengths and Energy

Each of these color bands has different shades and a range of wavelengths of that color. Light rays with shorter wavelengths, such as blue light, have more energy than those with longer wavelengths. The color band with the highest energy and shortest wavelength is blue light. Red light, on the other hand, has the longest wavelength, which means that it has the lowest energy.

Facts About Blue Light

To better understand why blue light can damage your eyes, you need to know a few facts. Some of these include:

When blue light rays strike water and air molecules in the atmosphere, they scatter quite easily. This is what makes a cloudless, clear sky look blue
Blue light is everywhere. Although the main source of blue light is sunlight, there are several artificial sources as well. These include LED and fluorescent lights, phone screens, and computers
The light-sensitive retina at the back of your eyeball is susceptible to blue light. The lens and cornea are quite effective at blocking ultraviolet rays. However, almost 100 percent of visible blue light passes through them and reaches the retina

Blue Light and the Eyes

High-energy visible blue light in large amounts can increase the risk of eye disease. Many experts believe that computer vision syndrome, also called digital eyestrain, affects about 50 percent of people who use computers for hours at a time. Some of the symptoms include blurred vision, irritated eyes, and dry eyes.

How Blue Light Can Damage Eyes

Blue light may harm the retinas. Essentially, it can cause phototoxicity. However, the amount of retinal damage depends on the exposure time and wavelengths. According to some animal studies, even short exposure to high-energy blue light may be harmful to your eyes.

There is scientific evidence that blue light can cause permanent vision changes. This is because almost 100 percent of blue light passes through to the retina. It may also increase the risk of developing a retinal disease, macular degeneration, and other eye conditions.

To learn more about blue light and how it can damage your eyes, contact Norwood Family Eye Care at our office in Bartlett, Tennessee. We are a black-owned eye care center specializing in treating all kinds of eye and vision problems. You can call 901-617-8095 today to schedule an appointment.