Blue Light

American University of Science & Technology

Faculty of Health sciences

Department of Optics and Optometry

Blue light, what it does to the human sight?

Marco Melikian

Dr. Zouhair Attieh

Spring 20-21

July, 2021
 Blue Light

Blue light, what it does to the human sight?

Abstract

In recent years, people have become more aware of the impact of light pollution on the eyes. In

the visible spectrum, short-wave blue light with a wavelength of 415 nm to 455 nm is related to

eye diseases. Dry eye, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration are all caused by high-

energy blue light that penetrates through the cornea and lens to reach the retina. At the same time,

it stimulates the brain, inhibits the secretion of melatonin, and increases the production of adrenal

cortex hormone, and having negative effects on sleep quality. Therefore, the impact of blue light

on the eyes is becoming a major concern in the future. In this paper, we will describe blue light’s

effect on eye tissues, in addition to the suggested solutions.

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Introduction

Since the birth of life on earth, our skin has been exposed to varying degrees of visible and

invisible light. In recent decades, due to the inevitable consequences of major changes in

industrialization, modern life, and lifestyles on a large-scale of the population in both developing

and developed countries, humans are exposed to insufficient levels of natural light during the day

and relatively high levels of artificial light at night. The widespread use of light-emitting diodes

(LEDs) in lighting is the result of recent improvements in LED technology. Compared to older

energy-consuming incandescent light sources, LEDs have many advantages, including low power

consumption, compact size, and longer lifespan. LEDs are now used in a wide range of

applications, including traffic lights, camera flashes, and smartphone flashes. The widespread use

of LEDs, as well as the rapid use of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, have raised

concerns about the safety of these light sources, the maximum output of which is in the blue range

(400-490 nm). By reviewing research aimed at evaluating the effects of exposure to light generated

by electronic devices on human sight, some light can be shed on the dark corners of this

complicated subject. The effect of blue light is currently being studied, so we don't know much

about it. However, because blue light is very close to ultraviolet light in the spectrum, it has

attracted the attention of ophthalmologists and people. Is it a health emergency? No, most of them

are hypotheses, but we know that it can affect our circadian cycle and the production of melatonin

(N. Arjmandi, 2018).

This paper will present the subject of blue light and its impact, especially on human sight.

It includes effects of blue light on the eye, its disadvantages, the solution to this problem and its

efficacy analysis.

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What is blue light?

The spectrum of sunlight includes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet light.

When these elements come together, we get the white light we observe. Each has a specific

wavelength and vitality. Red rays have longer wavelengths and less energy than blue rays. On the

other hand, blue light has a shorter wavelength and higher energy. White light with a high blue

component can expose the eye to longer wavelengths in the blue end of the spectrum.

Sunlight is the most common source of blue light. Other resources include CFL (compact

fluorescent light) bulbs for fluorescent lights, light from LEDs, LED televisions with flat screens,

and computer displays, smart phone displays, and tablet screens (Prevent Blindness, n.d.).

Compared to the amount of blue light emitted by the sun, the amount of blue light emitted by the

screen is very small. However, due to the near closeness of the displays and the amount of time

spent staring at them, people are concerned about the long-term effects of screen exposure.

Children's eyes absorb more blue light from digital device screens than adults' eyes, according to

a recent NEI-funded study (UC Davis, 2019).

Effects of Blue Light on Cornea

The cornea is located at the front of the eyeball and is the primary design that light

experiences when going through the eye. A few examinations have shown that the endurance pace

of corneal epithelial cells after Blu-ray illumination diminishes, while blue light has been shown

to increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in corneal epithelial cells, actuates the

ROS-nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich inclosing family, pyrin-area containing-3 (NLRP3)-

interleukin (IL)- 1β flagging pathway, and trigger irritation of human corneal epithelial cells

(HCECs) incited by hyperosmotic pressure from NLRP3 and up-guideline of IL-1 beta emission.

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As a result of induced oxidative damage and apoptosis, ocular inflammation and dry eye occur. In

addition, an effective antioxidant extract related to free radical scavenging was shown to reduce

the oxidative damage caused by blue light, thereby improving the clinical symptoms of the ocular

surface in a dry eye mouse model, confirming that blue light is related to the development of dry

eye. As a result, topical antioxidant therapy can be employed as an alternative medicine for blue

light-induced dry eye (WHN, 2020).

Niwano et al. used in vitro cell culture experiments. They found that blue light is phototoxic

to corneal epithelial cells. Research results show that blue light near the ultraviolet region has a

dose- and time-dependent effect on the mitosis of corneal epithelial cells. When the microvilli in

the epithelial layer of the corneal epithelium loses the ability to maintain and stabilize the tear film,

dry eye syndrome occurs. However, the effect of blue light on the cornea is not limited to corneal

epithelial cells. Blue light irradiation has a considerable inhibitory impact on the activity of corneal

stromal cells, which is dose- and time-dependent. The effect of blue light on autophagy of corneal

stromal cells is related to the inhibitory effect as shown in research. Blue light irradiation is also

used as a method to treat bacterial keratitis. The combination of blue light with a wavelength of

440 nanometers and riboflavin corneal crosslinking in the treatment of bacterial keratitis shows

that blue light can effectively control corneal ulcers caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection

and is expected to develop into a future treatment method for refractory corneal ulcers. More

research is needed on long-term safety and efficacy. In the color spectrum, blue light is more

similar to ultraviolet light and is invisible. Ultraviolet light has the shortest wavelength and is

known to be harmful. May cause skin sunburn and cancer. Ultraviolet radiation can also damage

your eyes, especially the cornea, causing diseases such as snow blindness and welder's cornea

(Zhi-Chun Zhao, 2018).

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Effects of Blue Light on Retina

Blue light may cause cumulative damage to the retina as it travels through the cornea and

lens and reaches the retina. Animal studies have shown that blue light can damage the light-

sensitive cells of the retina, which is irreplaceable. The hypothesis is that if it is dangerous to

animal models, then it may also be dangerous to humans. (A large number of studies on the effect

of blue light on the development speed of people's cataracts went empty-handed.)

Visual disturbances, such as age-related macular degeneration, can lead to irreversible

vision loss, which can be caused by retinal damage. Macular degeneration is the most common

cause of blindness among adults in the Western world, affecting up to 9% of the population

(Yanoga, 2019).

Effects of Blue Light on Sleep

Our body is controlled by the circadian rhythm, which is a 24-hour biological mechanism

that determines when we feel awake and when we feel sleepy. The rising and setting of the sun is

the main source of circadian rhythms. The suprachiasmatic nucleus is a part of our brain that uses

environmental signals such as light to determine when to sleep.

The suprachiasmatic check is extremely sensitive to even small environmental changes.

Blue light is emitted by electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets, readers, and laptops.

Blue light has a short wavelength and has been shown to disrupt our circadian rhythm by delaying

the synthesis of melatonin at night. Melatonin is a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. Insomnia

and lack of sleep may be caused by interrupted melatonin production. Some studies have also

shown that blue light and lack of melatonin can reduce the time of REM and slow wave sleep.

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Compared with adults, blue light reduces the melatonin synthesis of young people by

approximately two times. Children who use screen-based technology before bed are more likely

to go to bed late and have less overall sleep time. Insufficient sleep can affect children's academic

performance and behavior. Lack of sleep can also affect the child's endocrine system, which is

responsible for optimal physical development. Exposure to blue light can also affect vision.

Restricting children's screen use, especially at night, may help them sleep better and grow up

normally. You can help reduce blue light exposure by establishing screenless areas and

implementing technical curfews (Prince, 2021).

There are many risks resulting from the exposure to blue light and the previously stated

present some of them.

Suggested solutions

Visible light passes through the lens and macular pigment inside the retina of healthy

people, both of which can absorb blue light. As the age grows, lenses will produce oxidative

damage, turn yellow, and absorb more ultraviolet and visible shortwave radiation, thereby

providing better blue light protection. In an in vitro study, blue light was associated with oxidative

damage caused by light excitation of the retinal visual chromophore. Another in vitro study found

that when A2E-rich retinal pigment epithelial cells are exposed to light through the BLF lens

instead of the ultraviolet blocking lens, they suffer much less damage. Rezai et al. also found that

BLF intraocular lenses significantly reduced blue light-induced apoptosis of retinal pigment

epithelial cells compared with intraocular lenses that only use ultraviolet light. Kent et al. found

additional evidence that BLF IOL can help prevent cell apoptosis caused by prolonged exposure

to light. Light safety guidelines are frequently focused at decreasing exposure to this area of the

visible spectrum, known as the "blue light danger," due to the widespread usage of blue light in

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workplaces (e.g., blue argon lasers). If blue light poses a special risk to the retina, filtering it will

have a protective effect, similar to how sunscreen protects the skin. When using blue or white light

to remove bilirubin deposits on the skin in newborns with jaundice, wearing glasses is the standard

of care. The ability of BLF IOL to prevent shortwave light damage has been confirmed in cell

culture and animal studies. For example, when a human uveal melanoma cell line is exposed to

blue light stress, the IOL BLF reduces the rate of cell growth compared to lenses that only absorb

UV light.

In the face of glare, it has been found that blue light filtering intraocular lenses can improve

visual performance by reducing GD and light stress recovery time (recovery of normal visual

function after exposure to very bright light sources and temporary blindness, which plays a key

role while driving). In a trial in which the experimenter was unaware of the treatment design, those

who obtained BLF lenses (n = 17) had a faster recovery period from light stress and a significantly

lower GD (P0.02) than patients with IOL of traditional ultraviolet filtering (n = 20). The following

study using a contralateral design (in the subject) confirms these findings. Other studies have

looked at the effects of BLF using clip-on glasses similar to BLF IOL. Compared with patients

wearing clear glasses, clip-on BLF glasses have a higher GD threshold (P = 0.00014) and faster

light stress recovery time (P = 0.0001).

According to Walls and Judd, the blue light filter can improve color contrast. Improving

contrast is an important feature of spatial vision, especially when distinguishing the boundaries of

real-world objects. The retina is defined as a "contrast engine", and the structure of the visual

system is to magnify the edges (as Hammond pointed out earlier in a 2012 review) and edge-driven

perception (for example, the lateral inhibition of the acceptance field). Anything that emphasizes

the edges may improve spatial vision and object recognition in context. One technique for defining

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edges is to use brightness differences. However, in the real world, things are rarely achromatic.

Therefore, use other distinctions to define edges, such as wavelength composition. This is why

color filters can provide a "clearer" appearance to the project. For example, a yellow filter will

selectively reduce the surround sound relative to the center, making yellow targets with blue

surround sound more visible. This basic optical effect improves the contrast between the medium

wave or long wave target and the short wave emission background. According to Luria and

Wolffsohn et al., the visibility of such stimuli is better when viewed through yellow lenses (Billy

R Hammond, 2019).

Anti-blue light glasses have varying degrees of attenuation of shortwave light (ranging

from 10% to 100%), and are promoted to the public, claiming that they can reduce eye fatigue and

discomfort (especially when using computers and other equipment), and improve sleep quality,

and may protect the retina from phototoxicity. In the current systematic review, there is no high-

quality clinical trial data to support these claims. In contrast, trials showed that the intervention

(blue light blocking) and control glasses did not significantly differ in the percentage of

participants with symptoms of visual fatigue or eye fatigue, but the certainty was low. Although

blue light-filtering glasses have obvious benefits, there are concerns that they may affect certain

elements of visual function (for example, contrast sensitivity or color perception). Liang et al.

found that the 100-tone FM color vision test using traditional clinical testing had no negative effect

on logarithmic contrast sensitivity or total error score (Caporuscio, 2020).

In view of the importance of blue light in synchronizing the circadian rhythm system, the

effect of anti-blue light glasses on sleep quality was analyzed. This result was discovered in two

investigations. In normal subjects, Liang and his colleagues found no difference in the effect of

high or low blue light blocking glasses on the subjective assessment of sleep quality. On the other

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hand, Burkhart and Phelps recruited patients with sleep disorders who wore high or low blue light

blocking lenses for three hours before going to bed for two weeks. According to the Likert 10-

point scale, the high-resistance blue light lens group has a statistically significant improvement in

self-reported sleep quality, compared with the low-resistance blue light lens group, for the high-

resistance blue light lens group (MD = 0.80 [0.17, 1.43]: P = 0.03).

There is no research on the effect of anti-blue glasses lenses on the health of the macula.

Due to the widespread use of backlight LED displays in modern digital products, they have an

emission peak in the 460 nm to 490 nm spectral region, so people have raised concerns about the

long-term safety of backlight LED displays. One of the advantages of anti-blue glasses lenses is

that they can protect the retina from potentially harmful wavelengths (Lawrenson JG, 2017).

Conclusion

To conclude this research, blue light can damage our cornea, lens, retina, and sleep. There

are solutions to this problem such as wearing anti-blue glasses, anti-reflective lenses, IOL, and

using filters. There is a need for further studies to address effective solutions against blue light.

Blue light is a source of various risks especially to human eyes, and there should be many

investigations regarding this topic to ensure future safety.

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References

Billy R Hammond, V. S. (2019, 12 5). The Effects of Blue Light–Filtering Intraocular Lenses on

the Protection and Function of the Visual System. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901063/

Caporuscio, J. (2020, 06 02). Can blue light glasses prevent damage to eyes? Retrieved from

medicalnewstoday.com: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-blue-light-

glasses-work

Lawrenson JG, H. C. (2017). The effect of blue-light blocking spectacle lenses on visual

performance, macular health. Retrieved from onlinelibrary.wiley.com:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/opo.12406

N. Arjmandi, G. M. (2018, 12 1). Can Light Emitted from Smartphone Screens and Taking

Selfies Cause Premature Aging and Wrinkles? Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6280109/

Prevent Blindness. (n.d.). Blue Light and Your Eyes. Retrieved from preventblindness.org:

https://preventblindness.org/blue-light-and-your-eyes/

Prince, R. (2021, March). How Does Technology Affect Sleep? Retrieved from www.sleep.org:

https://www.sleep.org/ways-technology-affects-sleep/

UC Davis. (2019, May 09). Is blue light from your cell phone, TV bad for your health? Retrieved

from health.ucdavis.edu: https://health.ucdavis.edu/health-news/newsroom/is-blue-light-

from-your-cell-phone-tv-bad-for-your-health/2019/05

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WHN. (2020, 11 06). What Are The Effects Of Blue Light On The Cornea? Retrieved from

worldhealth.net: https://worldhealth.net/news/what-are-effects-blue-light-cornea/

Yanoga, F. (2019, 6 13). Does blue light from electronic devices damage our eyes? Retrieved

from wexnermedical.osu.edu: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/blue-light-and-vision

Zhi-Chun Zhao, Y. Z. (2018, 12 18). Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue

light on eyes. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6288536/

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