In terms of our physical and mental health, sleep (unless you’re suffering from toss-and-turns every night) has many benefits that we need in order to live a healthy, productive daily life. Maria Konnikova, puts it astutely in this fascinating New York Times article. “As your body sleeps, your brain is quite actively playing the part of mental janitor: It’s clearing out all of the junk that has accumulated as a result of your daily thinking.”
However, as our lives become increasingly busy, we tend to find ourselves spending long evenings trying to balance work and play or studying away in the library, while sleep becomes a secondary activity (thanks to the addictive engagement of social media and free coffee in the office). Unfortunately, these habits can affect our sleep patterns and subsequently, overall health, in a very harmful way.
Sleep plays a vital role in physiological well-being and mental stability throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your emotional health, productivity levels, quality of life, and safety. – National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute
What is blue light?
When we spend long hours in the evening looking at our cell phones, tablets or computer screens, our bodies are absorbing large amounts of what is called “blue light”. Blue light is the bright, artificial light that is produced by LED screens, which are now a feature of almost every modern day communication device. Although it increases our attention spans during the day, blue light absorbed during evening hours can actually have a very negative effect on our body’s natural clock, aka our “circadian rhythm”.
When it gets dark outside at the end of the day, our brain begins to produce a natural chemical called Melatonin, which signals to our body that it is time to go to sleep. However, studies have shown that the short light wavelength that LED screens emit actually inhibit the natural production of Melatonin, which is why we may experience insomnia-like symptoms after working late nights. Insomnia is a wide spread problem among people today and is known to be severely detrimental in the long run.
Glasses that block blue light
In fact, there is an easy (and now stylish) way to combat the undesirable effects of blue light; Enter the revolutionary Blue Blocking glasses, the simplest aid to consistent, natural sleep. These frames are indispensable to those who are suffering from sleep deprivation, eye fatigue or have trouble falling asleep after working for more than twenty minutes at night. A solution that was originally developed by NASA, the lenses are specifically designed to block blue LED light and harmful UV rays that disrupt or inhibit our natural Melatonin intake. Essentially, the lenses work by filtering out the blue light portion from the visible colour spectrum when you are using a digital device at night. As such, to benefit from blue-light blocking lenses all you have to do is wear them while working at night, to guarantee finding yourself in dreamland bliss later! Not to mention, you can make the most of these frames by wearing them during the day as well to safeguard against the sun’s infamous UV rays.
While the technology may be new to you, there are several brands who have been long dedicating research and resources to develop and design blue light blocking lenses in frames that look as fashionable as they are functional. Popular eyewear e-tailer VisionDirect is famous for carrying the largest collection of eye products in the world and you can explore their entire collection of Blue Light-Blocking Lenses, here.”
