Even though my son is 35 years old and lives 3,000 miles away, I’m still “Dr. Mom,” especially when it comes to maladies that have to do with eyes and vision. He called the other day to relate an interesting experience and get my “professional” opinion.
Although he eats well, is very active and exercises regularly, he woke up a few days earlier feeling extremely fatigued and with a queasy stomach. He managed to get through his work day, which entails many hours on a computer. The workload had been heavier than usual lately. He went to bed early, but woke up feeling worse, unable to make his daily bike ride to work. There was no two ways about it, he had to take a sick day.
On his own, my son decided to take a moratorium on the use of all electronic devices, including television, for the day. That afternoon, he slept for two hours and woke up feeling perfectly fine, ready for a workout at the gym and a good meal. Since it didn’t seem likely that a stomach bug or the flu would resolve completely so quickly, he wanted to know if blue light exposure could have caused the symptoms, and taking a break from his devices was the cure. (Note: He usually wears glasses with a blue light filter at work, but not at other times.)I told him I couldn’t be sure, but it was certainly an interesting coincidence. Studies have shown that that blue light is a potent suppressor of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms. Disruption of the circadian rhythms disrupts normal sleep cycles, which can result in fatigue, depression and lowered immunity. What’s more, Harvard researchers put 10 people on a schedule that gradually shifted the timing of their circadian rhythms. Their blood sugar levels increased, throwing them into a prediabetic state, and levels of leptin, a hormone that leaves people feeling full after a meal, went down. While a small study, disruption of the circadian rhythm may affect more than sleep.
While there’s no way to know what caused my son not to feel well then miraculously recover, I was glad to know that he is aware of some of the effects of constant use of digital devices. Much about the effects of blue light exposure is still under study and there is legitimate concern that additional exposure to significant levels of blue light from digital devices — in addition to increasing the risk of eye strain related to chromatic aberration and the potential for circadian rhythm alteration — may pose incremental risks to eye health, but it may take several decades before we fully understand the seriousness of these risks.
You can find evidence-based guidelines for recommending blue light filtration for your patients with our CE, What We Know — And Don’t Know — About Blue Light, at 2020mag.com/ce.
