One of the easiest/non-toxic ways to boost your overall skin health and wellness is to eliminate exposure to nonnative blue light frequencies after dark. The light that comes from our screens (phone, tablet, computer, tv, car, etc.) has blue and green light frequencies that disrupt our hormone production. When our eyes are exposed to that light, it triggers the release of cortisol and suppresses melatonin since the brain thinks it must be solar noon (since that is the only time when those blue and green colors are visible in natural sunlight). So, let’s say that it’s 8pm and you are sitting down to unwind from a long day by binging a little on Netflix. The blue flickering light from your tv suppresses your melatonin production making it more difficult for you to fall asleep and get quality restful zzzzzs!
Natural light vs. artificial light:
Blue light is found both naturally and artificially. When you go outside blue light is emitted from the sun which is essential in regulating your sleep and wake cycles and your body clock. Blue light has also been shown to improve alertness, reaction times and create a sense of wellness. Blue light from the sun is essential as it is accompanied by all the other colors from the light spectrum, making it a balanced and healthy light source. In winter months when the sun does not come out we can suffer from Season Affective Disorder (S.A.D) which lowers mood and heightens feelings of depression and anxiety.
The blue light found on our phone screens and led light bulbs at home are not accompanied by the full color spectrum and end up damaging our mitochondrial function in addition to messing up our hormone production.
Why is melatonin so important?
Not only does melatonin tell your body that it’s time to rest by controlling your circadian rhythms, it is the number one cancer fighting hormone in our body due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. That doesn’t mean you should start downing melatonin supplements (although there is an anti-cancer treatment that involves mega dosing melatonin that some alternative oncology centers use), but you can see why it’s so important to make sure you are supporting your body’s natural production!
Enter my favorite blue light blocking hack: Blublox glasses. These glasses block all the harmful blue and green light frequencies so you can maintain your habits of using electricity and screens after dark without ruining your hormone production.
BLUblox lenses are manufactured under heavily QC's optics laboratory conditions. They have 3 different lenses listed below:
The Sleep+ glasses align with the academic literature and block 100% of blue and green light from 400-550nm. They are to be worn post-sunset.
The SummerGlo glasses block out blue light from 400-450nm, this is the frequencies of light that damage the eyes, cause digital eyestrain and disrupt your hormones. The cleverly designed yellow tint also causes a hormone boost during the day making you feel absolutely great!
The BluLite Computer glasses filter down blue light by around 40% across the entire blue spectrum between 400-495nm. This allows for less eye strain, headaches and dry eyes
In addition to providing a great product, Blublox has a community initiative as well. Through their partnership with RestoringVision, a non-profit dedicated to providing new, high quality, reading glasses to those who would otherwise not have access, they help to give the gift of sight to people living in impoverished communities around the world. Their mission it to restore hope and the opportunity for a better quality of life in developing countries by restoring their ability to see clearly, work, read, learn, perform daily tasks and provide for themselves and their families. For every pair of BLUblox glasses that are sold, they sponsor a brand new pair of reading glasses to an individual in need, helping them to experience the world differently.
BLUblox has lots of stylish frames and you can even get them in your prescription. I get tons of compliments on mine and I have noticed such a difference in my sleep! Follow the button below to their website and use code WHOLELISTIC for 15% off!