Self Care and Good Eye Health
Consider Vision Preservation For Your Clip Career
I recently had a bout with what appeared to be night blindness and a general “dry eye” issue. It’s not always feasible to film when natural daylight is abundant which is best for good eye health. So between occasionally filming with my phone or tablet to overuse of an LED ringlight, my perfect vision status seemed to be diminishing rapidly. After speaking with a few other models on the subject, we came to the conclusion that we were over-focused on work and ignoring the potentially permanent damage we were doing to our health.
It is probable that in your house you have several bulbs that emit white or blue light. However, it doesn’t end there. Your phone, your computer, TV, tablet, etc. are many of the electronic devices that today use screens with very damaging effects. Maybe you’re reading this article from one of the devices with LED light, which has a “whitish” hue, either warm or cold, with a large blue component.
The payment we had to prove in exchange for more powerful and durable lighting, less consumption, is the possible damage to our bodies. The retina, sleep, and hormones are some of the systems that can be altered, but let’s explain a little more in-depth the origin and the scientific basis of these disorders induced by LED lights.
A “Bluish-White” Light
Initially, LED lights were red and green (around the 1960s, when commercial production began). The blue light came later, with the advancement of technology, around the 1990s. Through the combination of these three colors, it was possible to generate the famous white light. Unfortunately, this was a very complicated and expensive procedure, which required a greater amount of machinery and resources, so many companies opted for other simpler routes.
What they did was to create a blue LED and cover it with a fluorescent layer capable of emitting a yellowish color. In the end what they achieved was a very “cold” white light, with blue wavelengths, the greatest threat to the retina.
But why? What really makes them so harmful? The answer is quite short: ROS.
Reactive Oxygen Species and Infrared
The problem is not “what do” LED lights have, but “what don’t” they have. The infrared acts on an endless number of necessary processes within our body, one of the most important are the preparation of retinal cells to repair and regenerate.
You may not be able to feel or see the infrared, but most light sources do. The problem is that LED lights, a non-thermal artificial light source, lack infrared, rather they have an excess of blue light that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are extremely harmful. Let’s explain it briefly.
ROS includes some molecules such as peroxides, free radicals, and oxygen ions. They are molecules capable of rapidly altering cellular metabolism. Under normal conditions, we can mediate with these kinds of naturally occurring molecules during the metabolism of organic and inorganic matter by certain powerful antioxidants that exist in our body. However, when these levels are altered, cell metabolism changes and some processes such as cell death and apoptosis accelerate.
Living under the spectrum of LED lights would not only cause basic damage such as insomnia, retinal damage and accelerated skin ageing but would also alter an endless number of reactions that begins with the production of energy molecules in our body, such as ATP. Infrared is necessary, even if we do not perceive it continuously, in order to achieve a good state of health. Let’s briefly analyze some of the most frequent disorders caused by excessive exposure to LED lights.
Insomnia: The Simplest Complication
Our organism has evolved since prehistory to adapt to all the environments in which we live. We were more skilled at hunting and searching for our prey by day, sleeping at night.
Humans created an organic cycle to respond to the same cycle of sunlight called the circadian rhythm. Our mornings are bluer colors that turn yellow-orange with the sunset. The problem with LED lights is that they are blue, so they simulate daylight and make us understand, unconsciously, that it is daylight.
Our body is capable of releasing hormones according to the moment in the circadian cycle in which we find ourselves. We have several daily peaks of a hormone called Cortisol, which is “activating” and “alerting”, which is regulated with these peaks. Then there is melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleep.
The LED light blocks or inhibits the production of melatonin and promotes the release of cortisol, it modifies our sleep and alert rhythm. We are inhibiting the hormone that makes us sleep and increasing the one that keeps us alert, it is impossible to sleep that way.
Studies confirm that workers with night shifts improved their sleep quality by wearing glasses with “blue blocker” lenses, which are a pretty orange color and block blue light. In addition, over-exposure to artificial light is even linked to cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Retinal Damage
Perhaps most important, apart from direct ROS damage, is retinal damage. Many studies have shown that blue light damages the retina, and it doesn’t have to be excessive exposure. Imagine a society where everything is LED-based; screens, lights, televisions, equipment, etc. Horrible, right? That is our society today.
In experiments with rats (which I believe to be unethical) based on comparisons, they put LEDs face to face with other light sources. The result was that LEDs caused retinal damage at very small (domestic) exposure levels.
The actual chemical process by which this light affects the retina is known as photochemical damage. The cells of the retina, due to the different ROS reactions stimulated by LED light, die quickly by cellular apoptosis (suicide). This process usually occurs with intense exposure to other types of lighting but is much faster and more potent with LEDs.
In addition, some studies claim that it can lead to macular degeneration of the retina, the specialist in terms of final vision, which allows us to elucidate the details with ease. The damage, of course, will always depend on the amount and intensity of light that is directed at the retina, but also in terms of wavelength (the spectrum of light), the bluer it is, the greater the damage it will cause.
Scientific Advancement Towards Abandonment of LED Lights
The first line, general prevention, would be for you to leave all artificial exposure-at least overnight-as much as possible. Especially when it comes to the screens of your phone, which is very close to your retina. In the latest software updates, for certain phones, a special feature has been added that blocks the blue light on the screens, limiting the damage caused by the LED.
My First Corrections
Since I’ve started focusing on me first and filming second, all signs of vision issues have nearly vanished. Maybe I caught this in time or maybe… I don’t know, I’ll just be thankful and leave it at that. I now dim my lighting whenever it is close to or aimed directly at my face. Fortunately, I have a lot of customers that like the “glam” look and request sunglasses in cam sessions. Good sunglasses can truly be an eye-saver outdoors and indoors.
I’ve opted to adjust or increase my lighting more in post-production rather than completely illuminating my office space while filming. I will now be on a two ophthalmologist visits per year schedule for regular exams. And the simplest item is by keeping the brightness turned down to a comfortable level on all devices.
Eat well, be well, see well.
The Goddess Mya Kulpa