You’re crawling into bed and getting cozy for the evening. We can probably guess your first instinct is to scroll endlessly on your phone or watch TV until you fall asleep. The temptation to catch up on news and social media is real, but in reality, you are damaging the quality of rest you are getting due to the blue light from your screen.
Let’s Talk About Blue Light
- Blue light is blue wavelengths of visible light.
- Our ancestors experienced blue light from the sun but because of modern conveniences and technology, we are exposed all day long.
- Blue light is emitted from sunlight, fluorescent light bulbs, and LED technology (computer screens, cell phones, tablets, and televisions).
Why Is It Bad For Us?
- Blue light prompts us to wake up and remain alert.
- Because we are exposed to seemingly constant amounts of blue light from lightbulbs and screens our bodies are being signaled to stay awake instead of naturally winding down in the evening.
- Over exposure leads to a lower production of melatonin.
- Lower levels of natural melatonin makes it harder to fall asleep leading to poor rest.
While we can’t eliminate blue light from our lives we can certainly limit exposure with blue light blocking tools.
Blue Light Glasses
- Wearing a pair is a great way to block these rays during your workday where you might not be able to limit the amount of screen exposure you have.
- We especially encourage you to use your blue light blocking glasses in the evening during any prolonged screentime to prevent a loss in melatonin production.
- SWW™ recommends Felix Gray or Baxter Blue blue light blocking eyewear.
Protective glasses are great but we also need to address bedtime. This is when your body needs to fall into rest mode and it’s much harder to do so when you are glued to a screen that is directly triggering you to stay awake.
Our number one rule for winding down is to put screens away at least 30 minutes before bed.
Screen Free SWW™ Wind Down Options:
- Read a book
- Use an infrared sauna blanket
- Engage in a relaxing meditation
- Decompress with a legs up the wall routine for 15 minutes
We can’t exactly avoid blue light in our day to day but doing any and all of these things will lead you to wake up more energized and ready to conquer the day ahead.
