What if I told you that the reason why it takes so long for you to fall asleep is that you're on your electronics before you go to bed? I mean, it's common sense, right? Well, this paper looked at the effects that different colored lights have on your circadian rhythm and melatonin levels. The circadian rhythm is like your "internal clock" that regulates your sleep and other physiological processes. But how does it affect the way your body regulates sleep? It's all dependent on the wavelength of the light, where shorter wavelengths disrupt your rhythm more due to the photoreceptor system and the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). The study found that blue light tends to decrease melatonin production after 2 hours of exposure compared to the red light counterpart. While the study focused on the overall data, they also did some small analyses based on gender, age, and other variables. They found that variation could stem from age-related changes, pupil size, overall health, hormonal levels, and other genetic factors. I thought this was interesting since I did a paper about this topic in high school, which is where I first learned about blue light being emitted from your phone. This topic got me thinking since I realized why blue light glasses were so popular, since they decrease the effect of blue light on your circadian rhythm, but also decrease the amount of headaches you get (I hate staring at my screen for long periods of time).
Source
Sanchez-Cano, A., Luesma-Bartolomé, M. J., Solanas, E., & Orduna-Hospital, E. (2025). Comparative Effects of Red and Blue LED Light on Melatonin Levels During Three-Hour Exposure in Healthy Adults. Life, 15(5), 715. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15050715
I thought this was very interesting! I have heard it be said to not use the phone before bed or even set the phone in a different room. But, I began to wonder if some people gain some type of dependence on phones to get a good nights rest, like listening to ASMR, and if their retinal ganglion cells build a tolerance to the constant light.
ReplyDeleteI very much liked this post it was super interesting and during my challenge week of sleep I heard many people say they keep there phone away from them at night to sleep better. For me I sleep with my phone close in case of a family emergency back at home its kind of my safe place knowing im only a phone call away.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! It is a well-known fact that blue light can damage our eyes, and it's uncomfortable to look at. I'm curious about when blue light glasses will become the standard, rather than an expensive add-on for those who already need glasses. This would be so helpful, considering almost everyone uses screens a significant amount in their day-to-day.
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