Is It Really Important to Avoid Blue Light Before Sleep

[SQAAD]

I'm pretty sure almost everyone has heard about avoiding blue light right before going to sleep but is it really a problem...? Because from direct experience i have observed that it's not. Many people can go to sleep fine without needing to filter out the blue light before they go to sleep.

And this study seems to confirm this obversvation of mine.

Quote

The study in Sleep Health, though, does strongly suggest it is not blue light filtering that matters, but the content you are consuming.

https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-night-light-unlikely-help-you-sleep-better

Edited September 6, 2021 by SQAAD

[Michael569]

This is an interesting topic. We do not have a lot of studies yet but the few randomised trials we have actually show promising results

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20030543/
20 volunteers randomised into two glasses groups - the amber (blue light blockers) had significant improvement in sleep quality 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29101797/
Amber glasses can also be helpful in insomnia however this is a really tiny study (n=8)  but it shows clear benefit. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28017916/
The users of smartphones without blue light blockers had lower melatonin levels and higher cortisol levels overall compared to those that used the blocker. However the results were not statistically significant, meaning the results might have been obtained by chance. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28595523/
Instalment of blue light-emitting devices in elderly care homes caused more nocturnal activity and more disrupted sleep although it caused more wakefulness and active time during the day ...as it should. 

 

From direct experience, I definitely get impacted. If I binge on computer games late at night or watch TV I feel worse in the morning than having read a book but it could be due to neurostimulation of videogames rather than more parasympathetic stimulation of reading a book. Hard to tell. Overall, I'd say blue light does have some disruptive effects on human sleep. 

[SLuxy]

Yup. Watch some Max Huberman

[SQAAD]

@Michael569

8 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

This is an interesting topic. We do not have a lot of studies yet but the few randomised trials we have actually show promising results

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20030543/
20 volunteers randomised into two glasses groups - the amber (blue light blockers) had significant improvement in sleep quality 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29101797/
Amber glasses can also be helpful in insomnia however this is a really tiny study (n=8)  but it shows clear benefit. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28017916/
The users of smartphones without blue light blockers had lower melatonin levels and higher cortisol levels overall compared to those that used the blocker. However the results were not statistically significant, meaning the results might have been obtained by chance. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28595523/
Instalment of blue light-emitting devices in elderly care homes caused more nocturnal activity and more disrupted sleep although it caused more wakefulness and active time during the day ...as it should. 

 

From direct experience, I definitely get impacted. If I binge on computer games late at night or watch TV I feel worse in the morning than having read a book but it could be due to neurostimulation of videogames rather than more parasympathetic stimulation of reading a book. Hard to tell. Overall, I'd say blue light does have some disruptive effects on human sleep. 

Nice data! Do you think that night light on pc is enough or would someone need to use blue light glasses also? I've never tried the glasses. But i use the night light on my pc.

[Michael569]

1 minute ago, SQAAD said:

Nice data! Do you think that night light on pc is enough or would someone need to use blue light glasses also? I've never tried the glasses. But i use the night light on my pc.

Experiment and see what works for you I found for me timing is most important. Turn off PC 1 hour before bedtime and spend that hour reading by a warm bulb light or by the candle light if it is bright enough 

[SQAAD]

@Michael569

4 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Experiment and see what works for you I found for me timing is most important. Turn off PC 1 hour before bedtime and spend that hour reading by a warm bulb light or by the candle light if it is bright enough 

Νight light works good. I don't know if it stops all the effects of blue light but i sleep fine.

[Average Investor]

In my direct experience I feel like my blue light block glasses have helped a lot. Worth trying out for $20 or so. 

[hamedsf]

Yup, basically it's the light that suppresses the secretion of melatonin. 

[mandyjw]

I have LED lights installed throughout the house. It's too harsh anyway. I'm not sure what to do about it. Can you install filters over the recessed lights? Recently stayed in a cabin with gas lights and no power. Oh, the atmosphere! lol 

[Ora]

you can buy these red films to put over lights, but then everything will be red. you could also just buy low blue light bulbs. hooga is an affordable brand. low flicker are as important as the color as normal LED lights have high flicker rates which causes subtle stressors to the eyes and thus the nervous system.