LEDs have taken over. In businesses and on industrial sites their efficiency, long lifespan and low costs are convincing. Furthermore, consumers encounter LEDs in almost every device with a screen. From TV to smart phone. Although it is environmentally friendly, blue light can negatively affect you.
But it isn’t that simple: The exact emission peaks of the LED is important and of course the time the eye is confronted with it. But blue light also has positive effects on humans and is used more and more for therapeutical purposes.
The takeover of light emitting diodes
When it comes to artificial light, there can be no doubt: Light-emitting diodes, more commonly referred to as LEDs, have taken over. Illumination, especially in industrial and commercial environments, has mostly been replaced by cheap, long-lasting and bright LEDs. If you use an average LED lamp for three hours a day, it may last for 22.8 years. A conventional filament lamp will burn out after about 10 months.
LEDs can be seen as tiny light-bulbs, that fit easily into an electrical circuit. The huge difference is that LEDs don’t have a filament that can burn through, nor do they get especially hot: An LED is made up of semiconductor material that emits light just by the electrons moving through it.
Freeze and stare into the (head-)lights
Efficiency and low maintenance costs are the biggest reason for the rise of LEDs for industry and commerce. In our private pace, we are providing our own dosage of LED-light all by ourselves: TVs, smart phones, computer screens and tablets all shine bright LED-light into our eyes for the most part of the day. (The fact that we stare into electronic devices for multiple hours a day is a questionable habit as it is, but let’s concentrate on the light)
The bad reputation
Light emitted by LEDs appears white. But actually, they have peak emission in the blue light range. It has become a rather common perception that blue light can induce photoreceptor damage. But it is much more complicated than that: It is a specific wavelength that may cause damage in the retina. Therefor, the important thing is considering the spectral output of the light source. Simply put, you should avoid LEDs with an emission peak below 450 nm. But of course, as is with all external influences, the amount is probably the most important thing. So turn off your screen for a while and look at the trees. It will do you good in so many ways!
But what about Pocket Sky?
A question we are being asked all the time is whether Pocket Sky is safe for the eyes. The answer is an unconditional yes: Our wearable not only complies with the relevant standard for photobiological safety of lamps (IEC 62471:2006), but undercuts the critical threshold of spectral irradiance by a factor of 20. This was confirmed by a series of external tests conducted by the renowned Austrian Seibersdorf Laboratories.
The bright side of blue light
Hence, Pocket Sky allows you to fully enjoy the positive effects of blue light, which are enormous: Since our body associates blue spectrum blue light with a bright sunny morning (especially if the light comes from a “realistic” angle; yes, that’s how smart our brain is!) it induces many positive biochemical effects that cause us to be more active, to perform better and be happier. The accumulating experimental evidence of the last years clearly indicated that exposure to blue light can definitely be used to treat circadian and sleep dysfunctions.
Newest research
An evaluation done by researchers published in a Scandinavian peer-
reviewed medical journal (Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia) reviewed 6,708 scientific articles researching light therapy and found that
reviewed medical journal (Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia) reviewed 6,708 scientific articles researching light therapy and found that
"Results suggest that light therapy is safe for the eyes in physically healthy, unmedicated persons. The ocular safety of light therapy in persons with preexisting ocular abnormalities or increased photosensitivity warrants further study. However, theoretical considerations do not substantiate stringent ocular safety-related contraindications for light therapy.”
Thus it can be concluded that, yes, staring into a bright screen for 10 hours a day can have negative effects on your eyes and on your well-being.
But the power that blue light obviously has on the human body can also be used for good. People with sleeping disorders, fatigue, and even depression can benefit immensely from devices utilizing blue light.