How Smartphone Light Affects Your Brain & Body
By Dreamer
Electronic devices are currently an inseparable part of our daily routine. nowadays, almost everyone knows how to use those devices. However, not so many of us know about the brigh blue light that is radiated from the smartphones which allows you to read what is on the screen even on the brightest point of the day.
Even though it is useful, this light does not turn off or adjusted with the hour of the day, it radiates continually. Not only our smartphones, laptops, televisions and every other similar devices also radiate this blue light. It is a problem since the light confuse your brain into thinking that it’s always daytime, even when the sun already set.
In the end, it will stop the release of melatonin from your brain. Melatonin is the hormone that induce sleep and since the blur light your brain from releasing melatonin, you will have a hard time falling. That’s why experts advise to turn off all screen at least two hours before you go to bed.
The tiny organ in your brain that release melatonin called the pineal gland. It release melatonin a couple hours before your go to bed. The science of why blue light radiated by smartphones keeps people awake led to the finding of a photoreceptor called Melanopsin. Many of us might already familiar with various cones and rods that construct our vision, but the discovery of Melanopsin in the retinal ganglion cells only been found recently. Ever since, research has also found that using smartphone or any similar devices at night will lead to sleeping problems.
The effect of blur light is more significant for teenager, who are more vulnerable to lights compare to adults. The reason is because circadian rhythm naturally shift during adolescence and cause teenagers to feel more awake even late at night. Several activities like turning on video game or television just before bed time can push the sleepiness away for another one or two hours and make early morning wake up becomes difficult.
The Problem is not Only Blue Light
Dr. Martin Blank from the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University has joined a group of scientist from all over the world who are making an international appeal to the United Nations regarding the adverse effect of various electromagnetic emitting devices including cellphones and Wi-Fi.
Other than sleep problem, there are several concern with those devices and of them is about their relation to cancer. However, what’s really worrying is the fact that child’s brain absorbs up to four times as much radiation as the adults take and nowadays, kids grow up having those devices around.
Apparently, the problem is our love to the screen. In China, screen addiction is considered as a clinical disorder and many rehabilitation center for it have been established where people who are addicted to screens are completely isolated from all media.
How to Deal With This Problem?
So now the question is, what can you do to deal with this blue light problem? First, you can limit your screen time before bed, turn off all the screen in your devices at least a couple hours before bed. You can spend those two hours by reading.
Another thing you can do is to download application called flux. This application can adjust the color of your computer’s display to the time at the moment – it will be warm at night and brighter during the day – and reduce the emission of the blue light. Similar application also available for mobile device. Using these application can improve your sleep quality related to the radiation of blue light.
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