Blue light: What is it, and How does it affect my sleep?

Hey Live Nourished Community! Let’s talk about BLUE LIGHT!

Let’s start off with this: What is blue light? 

Blue light is a form of light that is visible to the human eye. When you are looking at energy levels within electromagnetic energy waves, the longer waves usually mean it has a lower energy. Blue light has very short wavelengths, so it is considered high energy. Take a look at this image here to see what I mean:

Okay, so now we have an understanding of blue light. Now here’s the question: What does that have to do with sleep?

Blue light mimics sunlight, which is GREAT in an office setting. It keeps you alert and focused. Because blue light has a high energy wave that does promote alertness and awakeness, blue light disrupts your melatonin production (the hormone that helps you wind down at night) when you take in any blue light in the afternoon/evenings. If you struggle to fall asleep at night or to get up in the morning, there’s a very good chance that your melatonin production is out of whack. And having your sleep cycle be off can lead to so many other issues. Sleep is a miracle drug, and we need to protect it.

So how do we do that? 

1. If you think your melatonin levels are off, get outside first thing in the morning for 2 minutes. Yep, FIRST THING. Our founder and CEO actually goes outside and brushes her teeth so that she’s getting the sun on her face first thing. What this does is it tells your brain “this is when I wake up” and it will transmit when to start producing melatonin to the rest of your body. 

2.  Our eyes don’t block blue light. So around 3-5pm when you’re still at work, throw on a pair of blue light blocking glasses. The little bit of yellow tint will tell your body that we are starting to wind down and transition into the restful space in our day. If you’re working at a computer all day, follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. 

3. We get it. It’s hard to not look at your TV or your phone after it goes dark outside. But, you can block the blue light by using red lens glasses after 7 pm (or at least while you are doing your bedtime routine. Baby steps are okay too!) Going back to that chart, red has a much longer wavelength and therefore is a lower energy wave. So blocking out the blue light with red lens glasses helps to take that next step from calming your body to actually getting some sleep. We still recommend not having any screens at least an hour before bedtime, but red lens glasses definitely help to take it a step further.

We can’t wait for you to start sleeping better at night! These 3 things alone can make a HUGE impact on your sleep. A bonus tip that has nothing to do with blue light: watch your caffeine levels after 2 pm. Caffeine wakes you up because it stimulates your adrenal glands, and it can be a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to losing sleep.

Stay Nourished, friend!

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