The impact of blue light on melatonin production was only recently confirmed, in 2001, when scientists found that light in the blue spectrum — the 415 to 445 nanometer range — disrupts melatonin. Because it is so bright, blue light is used widely in pretty much all LED devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. And because it is so hot, it appears to be wreaking all sorts of havoc on our eyes, on melatonin, and consequently, on our health.

The latest research, in fact, overwhelmingly suggests that delayed production of melatonin due to blue light exposure at night is causing far more problems than insomnia, from diabetes and certain types of cancer to lupus and migraine headaches. Optometrists are even seeing high levels of retinal stress in young people that could lead to the early onset of macular degeneration, which in extreme cases can cause near blindness.

Because artificial light at night has only been around for the past century or so, and the hotter, brighter blue light has only been so heavily concentrated in our light sources for the past 10 or 20 years (the previously popular incandescent bulbs don’t emit the same amount of blue light, which is stronger in CFLs but stronger still in LEDs), its long-term effect on our eyes and bodies remains unknown.

For those who like to read the scientific literature directly, here’s a quick tour of some of the latest findings, and a search on blue light and melatonin via the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s PubMed search tool can yield larger results:

• Room light not only suppresses melatonin production, but it could also impact sleep, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.
• Blue light is considered a “carcinogenic pollution” that in mice correlates with higher cancer rates.
• A lack of melatonin is linked to higher rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers, while blocking those blue rays with amber glasses is linked to lower cancer rates.
• Exposure to blue light in people appears to have an impact on mood.
• Lower melatonin in mice is linked with higher rates of depression.
• Too much light exposure can cause retinal toxicity.
• Blue light exposure may be playing a role in the higher incidence of cataracts and macular degeneration seen today.

For now, there are screens for tablets that purport to filter out the blue light, and as well as apps that let you put your device in a bedtime mode where the light contains less blues and more ambers. More research needs to be done to see whether those screens or apps actually work.

Source : http://eyecareinwausau.com/tips-for-healthy-eyes/how-blue-light-affects-our-eyes/

It's counterintuitive, but scientists agree that drinking coffee before napping will give you a stronger boost of energy than either coffee or napping alone. To understand a coffee nap, you have to understand how caffeine affects you. After it's absorbed through your small intestine and passes into your bloodstream, it crosses into your brain.

There, it fits into receptors that are normally filled by a similarly shaped molecule called adenosine. Adenosine is a byproduct of brain activity, and when it accumulates at high enough levels, it plugs into these receptors and makes you feel tired.

But with the caffeine blocking the receptors, it's unable to do so. Here's the trick of the coffee nap: sleeping naturally clears adenosine from the brain. So if you nap for those 20 minutes, you'll reduce your levels of adenosine just in time for the caffeine to kick in. The caffeine will have less adenosine to compete with, and will thereby be even more effective in making you alert. 

Source : https://youtu.be/CaI5LWj6ams

When your eyes get tired and you start feeling the eye strain, but still have some work to do, use the Exercises for Eyes. Regular eye exercises can help you to improve eyesight and prevent eye diseases such as nearsightedness and farsightedness. Please follow the instruction step by step making twenty-seconds breaks between exercises.

Let's have an eyeball excercise to relax.

Source : http://exercises4eyes.com/

Source by David Roberts

If you are a regular Vox reader, chances are you spend a lot of time looking at LED screens — on your phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, phablet, smartwatch, fitness device, smart appliance, Google Glass, or whatnot. According to the Vision Council, about a third of my generation (X) spends at least nine hours a day on digital devices. Millennials are even worse (in this as in everything).

In the somewhat smaller tribe of people who read and write stuff on the internet for a living, I bet 10 to 12 hours a day isn't unusual. I'm sure I've done it.

It's not good for our eyes. LED screens emit a great deal of blue light, and according to the Vision Council, "cumulative and constant exposure to blue light can damage retinal cells."

What's more, even the non-harmful portion of blue light sends a signal to our brains that it is daytime, revving up our heart rate and alertness. It mimics the sun, basically. You do not want to be lying in bed at night, having brushed your teeth and set your alarm, staring into the sun. It's not a recipe for good sleep.

Exposure to blue light at night has even been linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. (It is not entirely clear why; it likely has to do with suppressing the secretion of melatonin.)

There are all sorts of solutions to the blue-light problem. The most obvious is just not to look at screens for two or three hours before you go to bed. Unfortunately, a substantial proportion of my professional work gets done in the two to three hours before I go to bed, so that's not really an option for me.

Hardware solutions include adhesive screen protectors that filter blue light and evenorange goggles, if you want to look extra cool after the sun goes down.

But by far the easiest step is just to install f.lux. It's free for Windows, Mac, and iPhones/iPads**. (There's not yet a version for Android, but there are plenty ofalternatives; I use one called CF.lumen.)

These apps adjust the light from your screen according to time of day. (Or you can customize them in all sorts of ways.) In the evening, f.lux will filter out your screen's blue light to eliminate the staring-into-the-sun effect. It will calm your brain.

I've been using it longer than I can remember, and I can't recall a piece of software that had more of an immediate, positive impact on my life. The only time I ever see my "normal" screen is when I'm updating f.lux, and it's horrific.

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/9-bad-habits-you-must-bre_b_10169448.html