[Music] Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum.
What the human eye can see. Blue light has the shortest wavelength and highest energy ranging from about 380 to 500 nanometers. The largest source of blue light is actually sunlight. There are many different artificial sources of blue light, such as fluorescent lights, LEDs, computer
monitors, digital devices, smartphones and tablets. [MUSIC] There are many different benefits of
blue light. Blue light helps with alertness, memory and b
rain function. It also elevates mood. Think about when you're outdoors in the sunlight, it helps elevate your mood. Blue light also helps regulate the natural wake and sleep cycles, the Circadian rhythm, on a day-to-day basis. [Music] Blue light exposure from screens and
digital devices is actually small compared to the amount of blue light from sun, but our eyes
are not very good at blocking blue light and all blue light passes through to the retina, the cells that convert light for the brain
to process into images. so blue light passes
right through the cornea, the clear part on the front part of our eyes, to the back of our eyes. So there is concern for different conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration, different eye cancers or growths on the eyes due to blue light. Myopia or nearsightedness is a huge issue right now because children are on digital devices so much. So it's very important to send children outdoors to prevent myopia or nearsightedness, which is associa
ted with many different eye conditions, such as retinal detachment, glaucoma and
cataracts and eventually vision loss. [Music] Blue light can definitely affect sleep and
this is a really easy change that we can employ. So blue light affects the circadian rhythm and
it affects sleep and wake patterns, so what we can do is to discontinue looking at our phones and our computers and any sort of digital device about an hour before bed time, which should help
improve sleep. [Music] There are diffe
rent ways of blocking blue light. There are spectacle lenses,
there are also contact lenses that block about 60% of blue light, and there are intraocular lenses after cataract surgery, a lens is inserted into the eye that can also block blue light. There is limited research as far as the long-term effects of any of these, but there are many different
options. So what I do to limit my exposure to blue light, and what I recommend to my patients as well, is to wear sunglasses outdoors. Wearing a
pair of good quality sunglasses that is 100% UVA and UVB protection. So most sunglasses from any eye doctor will have this, a good quality pair of sunglasses in the $50 or so range will mostly be UVA and B protected and you can also get
that evaluated. I also recommend taking breaks on digital devices. So every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break, look 20 ft away - the 20-20-20 rule. [Music] I also use artificial tears. Non-preserved artificial tears in the morning and in the evening to lubrica
te my eyes. You can think of artificial
tears like lotion for your hands, so lubricating the eyes, and you can also use artificial tears during the day, and there are safe artificial tears to use even with contact lenses. So those are all of the things that I do on a daily basis. In addition, having a healthy lifestyle, drinking
water is helpful for the eyes, some caffeine has been shown to be beneficial -- not too much -- and most importantly, always having an eye examination to evaluate the
front and back of the eyes because
we can find more than 270 diseases in the eye. [Music]
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