Why Blu Ray and Blue Light Technology Affects Sleep, Your Mental, Emotional, And Physical Wellbeing. 

Updated 24th Nov 2020.

Why Modern Technology Affects Sleep In All Ages

Studies suggest that since I wrote this article in 2016, adults are now spending as much as 10 hours per day looking at digital devices. A 40% increase in device usage in just 4 years. Now the problem is blue light technology affects sleep, hormones, health, even anxiety and stress levels. We also know that lack of sleep causes all sorts of health challenges.

Overstimulation and Blue Ray Exposure

Other than sugar, caffeine, and drugs the biggest causes of overstimulation and stress today is technology. Especially information overload and artificial BLUE RAY exposure. Blue light in its natural state in daylight can improve our sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Natural blue light can increase mood, encourage a healthy sleep cycle, and support Vitamin D intake.

Blue Light Exposure And Eye Conditions

But Blue Light in its artificial state e.g. LED, Blu Ray in technological devices could suggest a rather different story to our health and well-being. Overexposure to artificial blue light is suspected of being linked to a variety of health conditions,  especially a variety of serious eye conditions. A big reason why overexposure to technology should be limited to all ages especially children.

Why LED Increases Stress And Overstimulation

Light-emitting devices can be a root cause of increased anxiety, stress, and overstimulation. They can affect concentration, be a cause of mental tiredness, increase strain on the eyes, and neck. In-fact long-term use is said to lead to possible damage to the retina even sight loss. It also carries an increased risk of depression and other mental health challenges and cognitive functioning.

Blue Light Technology Affects Sleep Cycles

When you use Blue Light devices in the evening it can seriously affect your circadian rhythm, your sleep, and wake cycles.  It disrupts natural body cycles are very important to help us maintain optimum health and well-being.

These short, flickering, high-frequency glares at night play havoc with our hormones. Harvard research showed that exposure to blue ray lighting for 6.5 hours suppressed melatonin for approx 3 hours. With so many children being prescribed melatonin for sleep difficulties could the answer be just less exposure to BLUE RAY devices.

Teenagers And Technology

We know most teenagers are exposed regularly to some sort of online technological device. With increased exposure to mobiles, i-pads, and computers. More and more children are suffering increased levels of fatigue, poor concentration, poor sleep patterns; clear overstimulation. One study in fact suggested kids spent more than 7 hours a day watching electrical entertainment.

A neuroscientist demonstrates further research on reading at night from LED’s “Participants who read on light-emitting devices took longer to fall asleep, had less REM sleep [the phase when we dream] and had higher alertness before bedtime [than those people who read printed books]. We also found that after an eight-hour sleep episode, those who read on the light-emitting device were sleepier and took longer to wake up.” Q&A: Why Is Blue Light before Bedtime Bad for Sleep?

To encourage Healthier Sleep patterns reduced exposure to technology late at night is a must. To ease the body back into a more natural circadian rhythm the body must learn to relax and unwind. Here are some Top Tops to Encourage Healthier Sleep with Natural Alternatives to Sleep Medication

Blu Ray Technology, Blue Light Devices

Today LED light-emitting devices are used in not just mobile phones, computers, i-pads, fluorescent lighting, but in car lights, toys, and ornaments. So to encourage healthy sleep patterns it is important to actually identify what items in your home and bedrooms are blue light products.