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If you are like the majority of most people, using technology or electronic devices are one of the ways you try to relax. Either by watching TV on the couch for hours, reading an e-book, or just casually watching videos or browsing social media on your phone.

You’re so busy getting immersed in all of these activities and before you know it, it’s already past your bedtime. The worst part is that you can’t fall asleep, no matter how hard you try. So, you go back to browsing the internet some more or binge-watching your favourite TV show. The result? You end up being sleep deprived and that is definitely not good news.

What Is Blue Light?

What you might probably not know is that your electronic devices produce “blue light”. And it that can badly affect your sleep and your health. And this blue light is mainly the reason why relaxing in front of the TV or any other device is a bad idea. Fact is that the when you expose your body to blue light the secretion of Melatonin or the sleep hormone in your body is suppressed.

Blue light increases the amount of alertness in your body. It also controls your circadian rhythm or your internal body clock. Usually, blue light can only be found in sunlight during the day. But nowadays it can also be found in LED devices.  So, if you’re wondering why you can’t fall asleep after all that binge-watching? It’s probably because your body still thinks it’s daytime even though it’s actually 3 am.

The bottom line is this, it’s probably best to cut down the usage of your gadgets especially when it’s close to your bedtime. Manage your day properly so that you wouldn’t end up being sleep deprived the next day. Sleep is an important part of our day and the absence of it may result in serious health issues like cancer, heart disease, and even obesity.

Tips To Lessen Your Exposure To Blue Light

Let’s be honest, completely quitting from using electronic devices would be impossible. To help you cut back from the exposure of blue light in your day here are some tips to follow:

• Limit the use of electronic devices at least one hour before bedtime.
• If you can’t really limit the use of electronic devices at night download a blue light filter app on your phone.
• Expose yourself to sunlight in the day, it can help you sleep better at night.
• Use dimmed orange or red light in your room to contradict the exposure to blue light at night.
• Practice and optimize a great good sleep hygiene that works for you.