Many of us spend a lot of time looking at our smartphones or computer screens. However, there’s a hidden threat that can be coming from your screen, making you age more quickly and develop serious eye problems.
New research from Oregon State University is fully exposing the harmful effects of exposure to blue light. These are numerous and worsen so much as we age.
Here’s what the problem is and how to deal with it…
Battling Blue Light
Blue light is found mainly on tablets, switches, and mobile phones. The research was carried out on flies and how they reacted in order to test the effects on the eyes. The studied species was Drosophila Melanogaster.
Why flies? The eye mechanisms of flies are quite similar to human eyes and reveal many useful things about how our eyes react as well.
Initially, the researchers left the flies in a totally dark environment. Soon after, with the purpose of observing the harmful effects of blue light exposure, the flies were separated according to their ages.
They were placed separately and then the research continued by interspersing darkness and exposure to constant blue light at intervals of 20, 40, and 60 days.
The focus of the study was on the mitochondria of fly cells.
Mitochondria have several essential functions for the functioning of human cells and biomolecular balance, including aging. They are crucial for energy production and the health of the organism.
Jaga Giebultowicz, one of the researchers, said the aim of the study was to measure to what extent exposure to excess blue light can be detrimental to cell energy production.
Giebultowicz pointed out the study in flies was able to show blue light drastically impacted the energy production of cells and gradually worsened according to the age of flies.
Results pointed to a significant worsening in their overall health and eye condition.
Everything leads us to believe that we humans and our bodies suffer greatly from the harmful effects of blue light, and you may be wondering why the polls were based on flies.
Researchers say that the accelerated aging observed in short-lived flies suggests that blue light exposure causes potential cellular damage in humans. https://t.co/7tgBMKPqex
— KEZI 9 NEWS (@KEZI9) July 27, 2022
More Studies Are Coming
The study was just the tip of the iceberg. For researchers now, it is important to actually see the impact of blue light on humans.
Giebultowicz said one factor that should be taken into consideration was that the study showed how much constant exposure to blue light accelerates the aging of the body.
This is very important to us as humans, and not only in terms of device usage: after all, we are all the time in contact with artificial lights, especially those of LED which are extremely rich in blue.
Research has shown that too much blue light can damage your retinas and cause other eye conditions like macular degeneration. pic.twitter.com/Cz8NtaesGA
— LasikUtah (@AskDrMonroe) July 25, 2022
What To Do Now
It is recommended that you set up a blue light filter on your devices, most of which have this option available or apps you can download. Another good idea is to look into buying glasses with blue light lens protection as well.
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
