Light from laptops, TVs and electronic gadgets may harm health

While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light does so more powerfully.
In an experiment, researchers exposed people to 6.5 hours of light—either blue or green. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much.

While fluorescent light bulbs and LED lights are much more energy–efficient than incandescent lights, they also tend to produce more blue light. Proliferation of electronic devices with screens, as well as energy–efficient lighting, is increasing exposure to blue wavelengths, especially after sundown.

Daily rhythms influenced by light
Everyone has slightly different circadian rhythms, but the average length is 24 and one–quarter hours. The circadian rhythm of people who stay up late is slightly longer, while the rhythms of earlier birds fall short of 24 hours. Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School showed, in 1981, that daylight keeps a person’s internal clock aligned with the environment.

The health risks
Study after study has linked working the night shift and exposure to light at night to several types of cancers (breast, prostate), diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It’s not exactly clear why nighttime light exposure seems to be so bad for us. But we do know that exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms, and there is some experimental evidence (it’s very preliminary) that lower melatonin levels might explain the association with cancer.

A Harvard study shed a little bit of light on the possible connection to diabetes and possibly obesity. The 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. Even dim light can interfere with a person’s circadian rhythm and melatonin secretion. A mere eight lux—a level of brightness exceeded by most table lamps and about twice that of a night light—has an effect, notes Stephen Lockley, a Harvard sleep researcher. Light at night is part of the reason so many people don’t get enough sleep, says Lockley, and researchers have linked short sleep to increased risk for depression, as well as diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

The power of the blues
While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light does so more powerfully. Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours).

In another study of blue light, researchers at the University of Toronto compared the melatonin levels of people exposed to bright indoor light who were wearing blue–light–blocking goggles to people exposed to regular dim light without wearing goggles. The fact that the levels of the hormone were about the same in the two groups strengthens the hypothesis that blue light is a potent suppressor of melatonin. It also suggests that shift workers and night owls could perhaps protect themselves if they wore eyewear that blocks blue light. Inexpensive sunglasses with orange–tinted lenses block blue light, but they also block other colors, so they’re not suitable for use indoors at night. Glasses that block out only blue light can cost up to $80.

Less–blue light
If blue light does have adverse health effects, then environmental concerns, and the quest for energy–efficient lighting, could be at odds with personal health. Those curlicue compact fluorescent light bulbs and LED lights are much more energy–efficient than the old–fashioned incandescent light bulbs we grew up with. But they also tend to produce more blue light. The physics of fluorescent lights cannot be changed, but coatings inside the bulbs can be so they produce a warmer, less blue light. LED lights are more efficient than fluorescent lights, but they also produce a fair amount of light in the blue spectrum. Richard Hansler, a light researcher at John Carroll University in Cleveland, notes that ordinary incandescent lights also produce some blue light, although less than most fluorescent light bulbs.

What can you do?

Avoid looking at brightly lit screens beginning two to three hours before bed. If you work a night shift or use a lot of electronic devices at night, consider wearing blue–blocking glasses. Expose yourself to lots of bright light during the day, which will boost your ability to sleep at night, as well as your mood and alertness during daylight.