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Blue light keeping you awake at night?
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Do you have eye strain?
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What the heck do you do?
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I've got your answers.
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Most individuals have spent over
a year now working from home
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glued to the laptops and other digital screens.
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And now you're experiencing eye
strain and headaches due to this.
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So what in the world do you do?
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Today, I'm going to break down the truth behind
blue light health consequences and what you can do
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right now to stop digital screen eye strain.
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Hey everyone!
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I'm Dr. Jordan Wagner.
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I'm an emergency room doctor who treats everything
from COVID to gunshot wounds, burns, you name it.
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I've created this video series to help
answer some of your medical questions
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and the questions that I get
from patients each and every day
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If you find this video helpful
please do me a favor and subscribe.
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Let's first understand the science
of what blue light actually is.
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Blue light is a type of visible light on the
light spectrum and it has a short wavelength.
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Due to the short-wavelength blue light rays
contain more energy than many other light types.
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In fact, blue light isn't just
produced by artificial sources only.
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We actually see blue light naturally
every time we look up at the sky.
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But here's the deal, for thousands of years humans
were exposed to blue light only during the hours
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that the sun was up and our brains were trained
to interpret blue light as a cue to be awake,
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alert, energetic, and ready for action.
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Being and feeling alert is good but
too much exposure to blue light on
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the other hand can cause adverse effects as well.
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For starters, if you’re exposed to too much blue
light during the day, your eyes can grow fatigued.
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But you may say to me doc, my eyes
are tired but my body is wide awake.
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What the heck is happening?
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Well, blue light may be disrupting your health
in other ways, such as your sleep patterns.
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The way this works is, the
blue light sends signals to
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your brain that can affect your
body’s production of melatonin.
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This can make it hard to fall asleep and stay
asleep after using your devices at night.
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And beyond sleep quality, melatonin
disruption throws off the entire
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hormone balance in your body which in turn
affects your overall health and wellbeing.
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Poor sleep quality can also change
the way that your body feels stress.
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When you aren’t getting REM sleep
your mind isn’t able to fully relax.
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So how do you reduce blue
light effects in your life?
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We've seen them everywhere, those trendy blue
light glasses, but do they actually work?
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Right now, the evidence for blue
light glasses as a preventive
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measure for reducing blue light exposure is mixed.
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The American Academy of Ophthalmology
doesn’t currently recommend special
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blue-light-filtering glasses for
use when you work with computers.
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This may change in the future.
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There's a study that is currently underway to more
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comprehensively examine whether blue
light glasses have definitive benefits.
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A 2017 study from Ophthalmic and Physiological
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Optics found that three clinical
trials had poor evidence to support
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the use of blue-light-blocking glasses to
preserve eye health and prevent dry eye.
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However, there are several lifestyle
tips for reducing blue light exposure.
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You don’t have to purchase blue light glasses
to reduce your exposure to blue light.
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Number one, protect your eyes
from eye strain and fatigue
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by adopting some eye-health-friendly habits,
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including taking eye breaks from your screens
or dim the lights in your home or workspace.
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Number two, you could even consider
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using red light as opposed to an LED
bulb as a nightlight in your bedroom.
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Red light is less likely to disrupt your circadian
rhythm because red wavelengths are much shorter.
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Number three, try a filter on your screen or
I highly recommend switching your device to
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night mode for certain hours of the day.
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These filter the amount of blue
light your screens give off.
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If you’ve tried some of these tips,
but you’re not experiencing the type
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of relief you had hoped for, well then it
might be time to speak with your doctor.
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Blue light exposure may already
be causing you to have continued
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symptoms like eyestrain and dry eye.
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As far as blue light glasses go, the definitive
verdict is still out on their ability to
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substantially reduce your exposure to blue
light and the associated symptoms of exposure.
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But limiting blue-light exposure,
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adopting habits to take better care
of your eyes, and taking breaks from
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your screens can all help you avoid dry eyes
and eyestrain caused by blue light exposure.
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If these symptoms don’t resolve with lifestyle
changes and self-care strategies within a short
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span of time, I highly recommend you speak with an
eye doctor about them, sooner rather than later.
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Alright, that’s been a blue light
breakdown, with me Dr. Wagner.
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Do you wear blue light glasses or
practice any daily eye strain tips?
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Be sure to drop me a comment below.
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Thank you so much for watching
and stay healthy, my friends.
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