New Scientific Study Links Blue Light From Phones To Blindness

In case you needed more evidence that phone addictions are bad.

A study published on nature.com on July 5th includes convincing evidence that links the blue light commonly emitted from phone screens and laptops to the early onset of blindness.

The research team, hailing from the University of Toledo, claims that the light emissions could generate dangerous molecules in the eye’s light-sensitive cells. In addition to speeding up the advance of ailments like blindness, this would also increase a person’s risk of falling prey to a variety of other eye-based diseases.

To conduct their research, the team exposed retinal cells to a variety of different types of light. They then found that blue light, in particular, resulted in a reaction that the team called “Blue Light triggers”, which created the dangerous and poisonous molecule.

This could then enable an early onset of “Macular Degeneration”, an age-based disease caused by the deterioration of cells inside the retina.

Although there are numerous causes of blindness, Macular Degeneration tends to affect people of a younger age range than those who are normally going blind.

In addition, according to a report from the Brightfocus Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on enabling research, the number of people affected by Macular Degeneration is rapidly on the rise. The number afflicted is expected to double by 2020.

Want to keep your phone, laptop, and other favorite screens, without going blind? Consider some special eyewear designed to block out the harmful blue light emissions, such as EyeBuyDirect’s Digital Screen Protection Glasses or Swannie’s Computer Protection Glasses. This eyewear will allow you to continue updating your social media accounts and burning that midnight oil to your heart’s content, without the risk of shutting down your vision altogether.

In addition to lessening the risks of early-onset blindness, these pieces of eyewear will also lessen the fatigue your eyes feel after some long hours of screen use, which can provide major boosts to your endurance during longer work sessions.

But if you’re not interested in investing in new eyewear, consider toning down the amount of time you spend using your phone or computer at night. These blue light emissions are the most likely to deal serious damage when they’re the only kind of light hitting your eyes.

If your device supports it, activating “Night Mode” can also help alleviate the issue. This program, now supported on many devices, increases the red value of everything on-screen to reduce the amount of blue light the devices use. It’s the simplest and fastest fix to help diminish risks of Macular Degeneration caused by exposure to blue light.