How can we protect children’s eye health from ‘’Blue Light’’?

How can we protect children’s eye health from ‘’Blue Light’’?rnPeople are exposed to different types of light in every day’s situation. When you stare at your phone, TV, laptop or a computer for hours, you are projecting your eyes to blue light. Although there’s no tangible evidence that blue light from your electronic devices can cause any damage to your eyes, there’s need to prevent our eyes from it. According to a recent study by Bank of America, a significant number of Americans cannot last for half a day without their mobile devices. Children are getting addicted to mobile phones and TV programs which means they cannot spend an entire day without interacting with them. Think about the first thing that you do in the morning and the last thing you do in the evening. As a matter of fact, you close the day by setting an alarm on your device and wake up to check the time on your Mobile phone, children on the other side usually spend most of their time playing games on mobile phones and computers. Additional statistics show that 72 percent of kids below the age of eight have used a smartphone by 2013. They begin to use smartphones from the time their damn fingers can hold them. By the age of two, most of them want to use the smartphones. What this means is that a significant number of children are projected to blue rays every single day.

How Blue rays affects kids and sleep

We can all agree that it is very difficult to stop children watching TV and using other electronic devices including computer and smartphones. With that said, most parents agree that there’s a gripping reason why the use of electronic devices by children should be limited. Although there’s no evidence to support that, most scientists agree that the blue light emitted from TVs, computers, and smartphones can delay the release of sleep-inducing melatonin. The same light increases alertness and may also end up resetting the body’s internal clock that tells you when it’s time to sleep. This becomes a huge problem especially to school going kids. Sleep depreciation affects their performance in lass and may as well affect their alertness and growth. The main reason why blue light is the talk of today is because it has a short wavelength. This is what affects the levels of melatonin more than any other wavelength. When children read from a blue light emitting gadget such as a smartphones, tablet or a computer, it delays the release of these hormones by the brain which delays its peak time.

Effects of Blue light on Kids’ eyes

Blue light has been found to affect retinal greatly. As a matter of fact, it is found to have a significant influence in retinal stress which hastens the development of macular degeneration which is popularly known as chronic eye disease. This means that prolonged exposure to blue light can cause retinal damage. A recent research from the University of Toledo shows that when blue light hits the retinal, it ends up triggering a cataract of chemical reactions which later damages eye cells.

Ways to protect kids’ eyes from Blue light

In most of the schools, laptops and computers have been introduced to aid the teaching process. Most of the kids today are exposed to daily blue light from these learning gadgets and for that reason, it calls for an additional need to prevent eye problems especially when they are learning using tablets and laptops. One of the main negative impacts of blue light is that it strains the eyes which can later be a cause of the problem. Blue rays may as well affect the eye health of the kids. This is the main reason why most schools today are calling for enhanced collaboration between the teachers, parents, and students to reduce the impacts of blue rays on kids’ eyes. Although there are several ways that parents, teachers, and kids can implement to reduce the impacts of blue light on kids’ eyes, here we will talk about the 5 main ways to help children protect their eyes from blue light.

Cut out blue light

This is the best and the most reliable way of reducing impacts of blue rays on children. As a parent, it’s time to look for appliances or even devices that cut out the shine. The good thing is that most of the smartphones today have some features including the Blue light reduction mode. Additionally, you can try to increase the size of text onscreen. Don’t forget to check on bluelightkids.com for some of the best appliances to cut out blue light. There are a couple of Blue Light Glasses that you can invest on here and several other appliances and applications that work to reduce blue light.

Limit smart electronics use

There’s a need to give your eyes a break. In the case of children, you have to limit the time they have to use smartphones. This helps to reduce eye dryness and fatigue. Advice your children to look away from the screen for some few minutes every time they are using smart devices. The wisest decision to take in this case is to advise them to give a break of one minute every 20 minutes they are using the smart device.

Let them take some time outside

Children should have enough time playing outside. This helps to make up for the time spent on the screen. The eyes also get some free time from the blue rays and end up rejuvenating with ease.

Set the bedroom up for success

One mistake that most parents make is to allow their children to get to their bedrooms with smartphones and laptops. Although this is not a huge problem lately, you should limit the time they are using these devices. It becomes a huge problem especially for school going kids. Let them have some time to sleep. You should as well consider replacing any source of blue light in their bedroom.

Dim the screens of all devices

I know it can be difficult to permanently limit the time your kids spend on their smart devices. If you can’t be able to call time on their electronic devices, then at least dim the screens of all the devices in the house.