LED lights are touted to be an “energy-saving” option, as they use only a fifth of the electricity that incandescent bulbs do. But while you’re saving cash by switching to cheaper lighting, you may be paying for it with your health — your eye health, in particular.
New research from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) confirmed that intense and powerful LED light exposure is phototoxic, warning that it can lead to “irreversible loss of retinal cells and diminished sharpness of vision,” an article in France24 reports.
In their 400-page analysis, ANSES recommends revising the maximum limit for acute LED light exposure, even though these levels are rarely met in homes or offices. They also noted that even chronic exposure to low-intensity LEDs can still "accelerate the aging of retinal tissue, contributing to a decline in visual acuity and certain degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration."
There are two aspects that make LED lights so problematic. First, they emit high amounts of blue wavelengths that are embedded in other wavelengths, making them invisible to the naked eye.
“The basic technology for producing a white light combines a short wavelength LED such as blue or ultraviolet with a yellow phosphor coating. The whiter or ‘colder’ the light, the greater the proportion of blue in the spectrum,” France 24 reports.
Second, LED lights do not have any near-infrared frequencies, which are crucial for counterbalancing healing. These near-infrared frequencies help prime your retinal cells for repair and regeneration.
So, when you’re exposed to these higher amounts of blue light frequencies, you catalyze excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation that leads to increased cellular damage — and there’s no way to repair it.
The result? An impaired ability to heal and a higher risk for chronic diseases, including age-related macular degeneration — the primary cause of blindness among the elderly — could be in your future.
Another way that LED lights harm your health is by disrupting your ability to get high-quality sleep, as it messes up your circadian rhythm.
LED light is used in devices like cellphones, tablets and laptops. While it occurs in lower frequencies compared to other types of LED light sources, using these back-lit devices at night can "disturb biological rhythms, and thus sleep patterns," ANSES warned. Blue light also hinders proper melatonin production, which, aside from causing sleep problems, may also put you at risk of insulin resistance.
Dina Attia, a researcher and project manager at ANSES, noted that these effects can aggravate metabolic disorders and increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. What’s more, children and adolescents are most vulnerable, as the crystalline lenses, in their eyes are not yet fully formed.
So if you love your eyesight and value your sleep, it’s time to ditch LED lights. Make the switch to dim incandescent light bulbs, especially at night. Better yet, sleep in total darkness and leave your gadgets out of the bedroom. Your eyes will thank you for it!