Do blue light filters help with sleep? This is a pretty complex question, so let's break it down a little 1/ https://t.co/DPPeLGvpqI
The basic idea behind blue light being bad for us is that we evolved to live with the only source of light: the sun This means that our biological clocks are geared towards the sun's rhythms 4/pic.twitter.com/ciYhEgKUWL
-
-
A number of studies have shown that various aspects of our biology are changed depending on whether we are exposed to sunlight, and at different points in the day 5/
Show this thread -
In particular, it seems that a specific set of wavelengths - blue light - can impact our sleep regulatory hormones and potentially change how we sleep 6/pic.twitter.com/62SMjcD5cs
Show this thread -
And furthermore, these wavelengths are emitted quite a bit by smartphones and other devices, partly because they are pretty bright and allow us to see better in the dark 7/
Show this thread -
So, blue light at night sounds like the enemy! It's unnatural, and might impact our hormones. This sounds scary 8/pic.twitter.com/etj7BR6yi5
Show this thread -
-
Firstly, the relationship between blue light and poor health isn't as solid as it's often made out to be If you look at this systematic review, many of the studies have been conducted on 10 people or fewer!https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07420528.2018.1527773 …
Show this thread -
And while most of the research shows some STATISTICALLY significant changes to things like melatonin and brainwaves, the evidence is much less solid for CLINICALLY significant changes 11/
Show this thread -
The problem is that there just isn't a lot of research, outside of large epidemiological trials, that have managed to get enough people to say definitively whether there are actually health problems associated with blue light 12/
Show this thread -
It's also not obvious how long these changes to melatonin last. The systematic review I mentioned earlier found that they may be very transient, lasting only 15 mins How much does that impact your health? We just don't really know
13/pic.twitter.com/K9IyuT6hzA
Show this thread -
So what about all the blue light blockers? Well, there are plenty of studies on those too The problem is that they're mostly not very good 14/
Show this thread -
For example, this recent study took 14 people, and gave half blue light filtering glasses and the other half normal glasses They found some barely significant differences (p=0.035-0.049) It's not enormously convincing stuff 15/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395617308592 …
Show this thread -
A 2017 systematic review could not identify a single study (!) of appropriate length and duration to make any statements about blue light blockers either way 16/pic.twitter.com/YzcjziwUvC
Show this thread -
Do blue light glasses work? Currently, best evidence suggests they probably don't do that much, but the best evidence is really not good 17/pic.twitter.com/qD4NoAcWNr
Show this thread -
To sum up: - Blue light might be bad - We aren't sure, it might not be - Blocking blue light might help - It also might be a total waste of time 18/pic.twitter.com/9OwkhF122S
Show this thread -
Best bet seems to be that blue light blocking software/glasses might improve your sleep a little, but it's hard to know if there's a real benefit to your health there 19/
Show this thread -
This is particularly true given that many of the studies are unblinded and rely on self-reported symptoms, which makes them MUCH less reliable as evidence 20/
Show this thread -
Podcast now out on this topic and recent headlineshttps://soundcloud.com/senscipod/episode-7-blue-light-glasses …
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.