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Can Blue Light Filter Improve Sleep Quality?

Can Blue Light Filter Improve Sleep Quality?

BY Janice 12 Nov,2020 Blue Light Filter Sleep Quality

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Melanopsin seems to be ganglion cell protein only found in retina. It can’t help people see the shape of objects, but can react with light, especially blue light. They have a high signal pointing priority to a structure in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is the body's internal clock.

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Circadian Rhythm

As such, people have developed the idea that blue light affects our sleep-wake cycle or circadian rhythm. Therefore, many manufacturers of corrective lenses are beginning to profit from blue light filters. The most common saying is that blue light filters could help restore our natural sleep-wake cycle, and they are also been touted to prevent retinal disease known as macular degeneration, reduce headaches and avoid eye cancer.

The Complexity of Blue Light

Ophthalmologists generally believe that “currently there is no sufficient high-quality clinical evidence to support the use of blue light glasses for reducing eye fatigue, improving sleep quality or maintaining macular health”.

Similar to the working principle of any biological system, the contribution of melanopsin to vision is more complex than one might think.

For example, melanopsin - like other photosensitive molecules in our eyes - could also be triggered by light other than blue one. Blue light is just the most sensitive choice. Therefore, blue light does affect our sleep-wake cycle, but other wavelengths of light could also exert impact to a less degree.

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But what is the root cause of the influence of mobile phone screen light on our sleep-wake cycle? Is it only related to the blue light in wavelength band? Or because people often stay up late when playing mobile phone, which makes the situation worse?

The available scientific evidence suggests that if you persist in staying up late, blue light filters cannot help at all.

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Research shows that one possible reason for eye irritation and fatigue is the total time we spend in front of the screen, which may also reduce the times we blink.

There is no clinical evidence so far to support the claims on the blue light filter advertisement, which is another pseudo science market with scientific discoveries.

Expanding neuroscience literacy should be a public health goal: to understand how brain and organs - eyes, for example-work.

For now, not looking at the mobile phone before bedtime is the most helpful way to alleviate eye fatigue and improve sleep quality.

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