The message that blue light from screens stops you from falling asleep is essentially a myth, albeit a very convincing one. Heres whats really going on.
Why? The light from our devices is short-wavelength-enriched, meaning it has a higher concentration of blue light than natural lightand blue light affects levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin more than any other wavelength.
How Blue Light Hurts Sleep. Your eyes arent good at blocking blue light. So almost all of it passes straight through to the back of your retina, which helps your brain translate light into images. Exposure to all colors of light helps control your natural sleep-and-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm .
Blue light exposure near bedtime can have a disruptive effect on sleep. This can lead to poor sleep and drowsiness during the day.Blue light and internet browsing before bed can negatively affect sleep. It can disturb the bodys normal rhythms, hinder sleep, and impact overall health.
The main thing to know is that blue light disrupts your pineal gland. The pineal gland is an important part of your endocrine system thats responsible for making melatonin. Youre probably familiar with melatonin as the sleep hormone. Its in charge of modulating our natural sleep cycles.
