How Blue Light Is Disrupting Your Sleep

Technology is great isn’t it?

Well, maybe.

Maybe not.

Like most things, it depends how you use it.

Aside from the fact that we’re all spending way too much time on our ‘gadgets’ – from teenagers gaming ‘til the early hours of the morning, to adults watching late night TV or the compulsive need to ‘stay connected’ on social media, the type of light we’re being exposed is having a detrimental effect on our body’s internal clock & causing a number of health problems.

How Blue Light Interferes With Your Circadian Rhythms  

Our bodies have an internal clock and this governs our circadian rhythms – a 24 hour biological cycle that regulates all our bodily functions including the release of certain hormones.

After sunset, your pineal gland releases melatonin, a hormone that signals it’s time to get some shut eye.

Melatonin is triggered by darkness, therefore if you watch late night TV, use your computer or other devices in the evening, melatonin is suppressed.

What’s more, the light from TV, cell phones & computers is “short-wavelength-enriched,” meaning it has a higher concentration of blue light than natural light—and it is this blue light that affects levels of melatonin more than any other wavelength.

Health Problems Associated with Poor Sleep

Sleep aids the body to recover, repair and renew. Restful & adequate sleep makes you feel more alert, more energetic, more creative, better able to function & happier overall.

Adequate sleep is defined as 7 to 9 hours (the average being about 8) and ideally you should sleep during the darkest hours – for example 9pm to 6am.

However when you go to sleep later than 10pm, not only you do you suppress melatonin (especially if you’re exposed to blue light) but also human growth hormone production – our number one fat burning and anti aging hormone.

Growth hormone release is highest during the early part of the night, between 10pm and midnight,  therefore individuals who go to bed very late in the evening may not only have difficulty maintaining a healthy body weight, they may also begin to age faster & look older than their biological years.

Lack of sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity as late nights interfere with our hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin.

Leptin suppresses appetite, whereas ghrelin increases appetite.

Studies have consistently demonstrated that sleep deprived individuals have lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin, meaning that those lacking in sleep tend to eat more and crave sweet foods compared to their well rested counterparts.

What’s more, poor sleep is linked to a higher incidence of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and cancer.

In regards to cancer, working the night shift has been declared by the World Health Organisation as a ‘class 2a carcinogen.’ Women exposed to artificial light during night-time hours, especially night shift workers, experience a higher incidence of breast cancer than other women. It has also been discovered that women with breast cancer have much lower levels of melatonin compared to healthy women.

The evidence is quite clear…

Our bodies are designed to be awake during the day, and asleep during the night!

How to Block Blue Light At Night

The best solution is to avoid ALL artificial light for at least an hour before bedtime, however if that’s not possible, here are some practical solutions to block blue light in the late evening.

1: Download a free app called ‘FLUX’ onto your computer and/ or mobile device.

FLUX changes the colour of your screen as the day progresses and filters out harmful blue light.

https://justgetflux.com/

2: Wear blue blocking sunglasses…at night!

These orange glasses can be worn after sunset and will cancel out blue light emitted from LED screens – TV, computers and mobile devices.

These are available at: http://www.optimoz.com.au

3: Use Himalayan salt lamps

Himalayan salt lamps emit a warm orange glow and don’t give off blue light. They also have a number of health benefits which you can read about here. (We have a Himalayan salt lamp in every room of the house)

These are available for purchase here

Additional Secrets to a Good Nights Sleep

• Resist the urge to surf the net in the latter part of the evening and/ or watch late night TV. Your body will thank you in so many ways.
• Turn off your wireless connection before going to bed as electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) interfere with melatonin production.
• Keep all gadgets (including TV’s) out of your bedroom. If you use your cell phone as your alarm clock, place the phone at the opposite end of the room to prevent exposure to radiation, and in flight mode to prevent signals from being received.
• Use dark curtains in your bedroom to block out all light. (If you need to get up in the night, use the light from a Himalayan salt lamp as regular light will suppress melatonin production)
• Keep a regular night time routine – ie: try to go to bed at the same time very night.
• Where possible, get some sunshine first thing in the morning. The bright light will help to reset your body’s internal clock.

If you suffer from insomnia…

Magnesium is well known for its ability to calm nerves & anxiety, soothe muscle aches and pains & induce a deeper quality of sleep. It also tends to be something that most people in the western world are deficient in.

Therefore try a quality magnesium supplement before bed. I recommend magnesium chelate or magnesium citrate, both of which are well absorbed.

Or you can have a ‘hot chocolate’ using cacao powder (Cacao is one of the best sources of magnesium) or try my golden turmeric tea with the addition of cacao.

Another option is to have a hot Epsom salt bath prior to bed. Epsom salts are made of magnesium sulphate – an excellent way to top up your reservoirs of magnesium.