Author: david

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Blue Light and Sleep: What’s the Connection?

Sleep is one of the pillars of optimal health.
However, people are sleeping much less than they did in the past. Sleep
quality has also declined.
Poor sleep is linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and
obesity.
The use of artificial lighting and electronics at night may contribute to sleep
problems. These devices emit light of a blue wavelength, which may trick your
brain into thinking it is daytime.
Many studies suggest that blue light in the evening disrupts your brain’s
natural sleep wake cycles, which are crucial for optimal health.
This article explains how blocking blue light at night can aid your sleep.
Blue Light Disrupts Your Sleep
Your body has an internal clock in the brain which regulates your circadian
rhythm — the 24-hour biological cycle that influences many internal functions.
Most importantly, it determines when your body is primed for being awake
or asleep.
However, your circadian rhythm needs signals from the external environment
— most importantly daylight and darkness — to adjust itself.

Blue-wavelength light primarily stimulates sensors in your eyes to send
signals to your brain’s internal clock.
Keep in mind that sunlight and white light contain a mixture of various
wavelengths. They each have a significant amount of blue light.
Getting blue light — especially from the sun — in the daytime helps you stay
alert while improving performance and mood.
Blue light therapy devices may help treat depression, and blue light bulbs
have been shown to reduce fatigue and improve the mood, performance, and
sleep of office workers.
Yet, modern light bulbs and electronic devices – especially computer
monitors – also produce large amounts of blue light and may disrupt your
internal clock if you are exposed during the evening.
When it gets dark, your pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin, which
tells your body to get tired and go to sleep.
Blue light, whether from the sun or a laptop, is amazingly effective at inhibiting
melatonin production – thus reducing both the quantity and quality of your
sleep.
Studies link melatonin suppression in the evening to various health problems,
including metabolic syndrome, obesity, cancer, and depression


SUMMARY Blue light in the evening tricks your brain into thinking it is
daytime, which inhibits the production of melatonin and reduces both the
quantity and quality of your sleep.

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Polarized Lenses vs Mirrored Lenses : Sunglasses Review

Sunglass FactsSunglasses Q&A

Polarized Lenses vs Mirrored Lenses : Sunglasses Review

Are you curious about the difference between polarized lenses vs mirrored lenses?

Most of us are aware of the damage the sun’s rays can wreak on our eyes, and as a result, we take special care to protect them by using sunglasses whenever we go out. However, with the rapid increase in technology and new inventions, we are faced with a lot of decisions when buying a new pair of sunglasses. One of the most widely asked questions seems to be about polarized lenses and if they are really all that necessary and worth the price or not?

In this article, we are going to shed some light on this issue of polarized lenses vs. mirrored lenses.

What Are Polarized Lenses? 

polarized vs mirrored lenses

Sunlight will either get absorbed, refracted or reflected depending on the angle at which it hits, however when this sunlight gets reflected from hard surfaces such as metal, water or other such reflecting surfaces, it combines together to form one concentrated glare. When this glare hits the eye, it can not only cause discomfort, but it also causes momentary blindness as well as damages the eye, over time. This can also cause accidents while driving under strong sunlight or cruising out on the water.

Polarized sunglasses contain a special filter that blocks out horizontal lights that form glares, and prevents not only sun damage but makes sure your get a clear view at all times.

Polarized Sunglasses Benefits

  • Ensures clear view at all times
  • Provides comfort from sunrays.
  • Eliminates distortion of light no matter what the weather conditions are.
  • Comparatively lowers eyestrain.
  • Increases visibility in bad weather and while fishing.
  • Eliminates reflections.

Who Needs Polarized Lenses?

Polarized lenses are essential for those people who work under harsh sunlight or spend a lot of time over water due to the fact that these people experience the most glares and can face damaging effects from the sun’s rays as a result. Fishermen also prefer polarized sunglasses as these lenses increase visibility allowing one to see fish clearly in the sea, once all reflections and glares are eliminated.

Nowadays, all those people who live in countries with harsh summers wear sunglasses with polarized lenses to reduce the eye strain.

Mirrored Sunglasses Benefits

mirrored sunglasses benefits

Another alternative to polarized lenses is a mirrored lens. This type of lens has a mirror coating on it. Like a regular mirror, mirrored coated lenses, reflect light away from the eyes of the wearer. However mirror coating can get uncomfortable for the companions of the person wearing these lenses, due to the fact that making eye contact is almost impossible in these glasses.

Mirrored sunglasses come in all colors such as pink, blue, green or grey, depending on the wearer’s preference as the color of the tint has no effect on the mirroring ability of the glasses. They are quite stylish and many people can be seen sporting these.

For someone whose profession involves a lot of work under the sun or out cruising the sea, polarized lenses is the way to go, however for others who require sunglasses for everyday use, mirrored lenses are a better option.