Making screen time safer by Earthing Oz

Blue light is all around us. It exists naturally in our environment from the sun and, in moderation, can be beneficial to us. Not all blue light is bad. It helps us to regulate our circadian rhythm, telling our body when it is time to be awake and when it is time to go to sleep. During the day, blue light tells our brain that the sun is up and we should be awake, helping boost our attention levels, reaction times and our mood. At night, our brain’s preparation for sleep naturally occurs when the sun goes down. When this happens, our brain tells our body to release the sleep hormone, melatonin, which helps us to fall asleep.

However, blue light also exists in an artificial form in the digital screens of our smartphones, tablets, computers and televisions. The addictive nature of this type of blue light means we are increasingly spending more and more time staring at a screen and when this happens late into the evening, it tells our brain that there is no need to produce melatonin. This means when we do eventually turn off the screen and close our eyes, we haven’t produced enough melatonin to help us drift off to sleep quickly. This has a knock-on effect as the amount of quality sleep we get through the night is decreased so we wake up and start the day tired.

Recent studies have shown that over-exposure to this form of blue light may have detrimental effects on our health, such as digital eye-strain, sleep disorders and an increased risk of macular degeneration.

On top of devices emitting harmful blue light, they also expose us to electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs). The type of EMF which is particularly concerning with smart technology is electromagnetic radiation, also known as EMR. The constant exposure to EMR can have adverse effects on our health and the health of our children who are still developing and growing.

Here’s some ways in which you can effectively reduce the amount of time our eyes and skin are exposed to artificial blue light and our bodies are exposed to EMR:

Practising the 20/20/20 rule to give your eyes a break from the blue light – when using a device that emits blue light, stop every 20 minutes to focus on objects that are around 20 feet (6 metres) away. Study those objects for 20 seconds before you return to your up-close viewing.
Protecting our eyes from blue light when using devices with a pair of blue light filtering glasses.
Safeguarding our skin from blue light while we work and play on computers and devices with a blue light filtering screen protector.
Consider carrying your phone in an EMR protection pouch instead of in your pocket.
Keep your devices and your body protected by using EMF protection cases. We have a wide range available for iPhones, Samsung phones, universal phone cases, tablets and laptops.