A review of the current state of research on artificial blue light safety as it applies to digital devices

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Abstract

Light is necessary for human health and well-being. As we spend more time indoors, we are being increasingly exposed to artificial light. The development of artificial lighting has allowed us to control the brightness, colour, and timing of our light exposure. Yet, the widespread use of artificial light has raised concerns about the impact of altering our light environment on our health. The widespread adoption of personal digital devices over the past decade has exposed us to yet another source of artificial light. We spend a significant amount of time using digital devices with light-emitting screens, including smartphones and tablets, at close range. The light emitted from these devices, while appearing white, has an emission spectrum with a peak in the blue range. Blue light is often characterised as hazardous as its photon energy is higher than that of other wavelengths of visible light. Under certain conditions, visible blue light can cause harm to the retina and other ocular structures. Blue light can also influence the circadian rhythm and processes mediated by melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. While the blue component of sunlight is necessary for various physiological processes, whether the low-illuminance artificial blue light emitted from digital devices presents a risk to our health remains an ongoing area of debate. As technological advancements continue, it is relevant to understand how new devices may influence our well-being. This review examines the existing research on artificial blue light safety and the eye, visual performance, and circadian functions.

Abstract

Blue light, Safety, Eye, Retina, Light emitting diode, Circadian rhythm.

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Most cited references 161

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Melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells: architecture, projections, and intrinsic photosensitivity.

S. Hattar, H. Liao, M Takao … (2002)

The primary circadian pacemaker, in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the mammalian brain, is photoentrained by light signals from the eyes through the retinohypothalamic tract. Retinal rod and cone cells are not required for photoentrainment. Recent evidence suggests that the entraining photoreceptors are retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that project to the SCN. The visual pigment for this photoreceptor may be melanopsin, an opsin-like protein whose coding messenger RNA is found in a subset of mammalian RGCs. By cloning rat melanopsin and generating specific antibodies, we show that melanopsin is present in cell bodies, dendrites, and proximal axonal segments of a subset of rat RGCs. In mice heterozygous for tau-lacZ targeted to the melanopsin gene locus, beta-galactosidase-positive RGC axons projected to the SCN and other brain nuclei involved in circadian photoentrainment or the pupillary light reflex. Rat RGCs that exhibited intrinsic photosensitivity invariably expressed melanopsin. Hence, melanopsin is most likely the visual pigment of phototransducing RGCs that set the circadian clock and initiate other non-image-forming visual functions.

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Evening exposure to a light-emitting diodes (LED)-backlit computer screen affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance.

Christian Cajochen, Sylvia Frey, Doreen Anders … (2011)

Many people spend an increasing amount of time in front of computer screens equipped with light-emitting diodes (LED) with a short wavelength (blue range). Thus we investigated the repercussions on melatonin (a marker of the circadian clock), alertness, and cognitive performance levels in 13 young male volunteers under controlled laboratory conditions in a balanced crossover design. A 5-h evening exposure to a white LED-backlit screen with more than twice as much 464 nm light emission {irradiance of 0,241 Watt/(steradian × m(2)) [W/(sr × m(2))], 2.1 × 10(13) photons/(cm(2) × s), in the wavelength range of 454 and 474 nm} than a white non-LED-backlit screen [irradiance of 0,099 W/(sr × m(2)), 0.7 × 10(13) photons/(cm(2) × s), in the wavelength range of 454 and 474 nm] elicited a significant suppression of the evening rise in endogenous melatonin and subjective as well as objective sleepiness, as indexed by a reduced incidence of slow eye movements and EEG low-frequency activity (1-7 Hz) in frontal brain regions. Concomitantly, sustained attention, as determined by the GO/NOGO task; working memory/attention, as assessed by "explicit timing"; and declarative memory performance in a word-learning paradigm were significantly enhanced in the LED-backlit screen compared with the non-LED condition. Screen quality and visual comfort were rated the same in both screen conditions, whereas the non-LED screen tended to be considered brighter. Our data indicate that the spectral profile of light emitted by computer screens impacts on circadian physiology, alertness, and cognitive performance levels. The challenge will be to design a computer screen with a spectral profile that can be individually programmed to add timed, essential light information to the circadian system in humans.

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Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness.

Anne-Marie Chang, Daniel Aeschbach, Jeanne F. Duffy … (2015)

In the past 50 y, there has been a decline in average sleep duration and quality, with adverse consequences on general health. A representative survey of 1,508 American adults recently revealed that 90% of Americans used some type of electronics at least a few nights per week within 1 h before bedtime. Mounting evidence from countries around the world shows the negative impact of such technology use on sleep. This negative impact on sleep may be due to the short-wavelength-enriched light emitted by these electronic devices, given that artificial-light exposure has been shown experimentally to produce alerting effects, suppress melatonin, and phase-shift the biological clock. A few reports have shown that these devices suppress melatonin levels, but little is known about the effects on circadian phase or the following sleep episode, exposing a substantial gap in our knowledge of how this increasingly popular technology affects sleep. Here we compare the biological effects of reading an electronic book on a light-emitting device (LE-eBook) with reading a printed book in the hours before bedtime. Participants reading an LE-eBook took longer to fall asleep and had reduced evening sleepiness, reduced melatonin secretion, later timing of their circadian clock, and reduced next-morning alertness than when reading a printed book. These results demonstrate that evening exposure to an LE-eBook phase-delays the circadian clock, acutely suppresses melatonin, and has important implications for understanding the impact of such technologies on sleep, performance, health, and safety.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Nikita A. Wong

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Heliyon

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Heliyon

Title: Heliyon

Publisher: Elsevier

ISSN (Electronic): 2405-8440

Publication date PMC-release: 15 August 2022

Publication date Collection: August 2022

Publication date (Electronic): 15 August 2022

Volume: 8

Issue: 8

Electronic Location Identifier: e10282

Affiliations

[a ]Dopavision GmbH, Berlin, Germany

[b ]Department of Physiology of Cognitive Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany

Author notes

[∗ ]Corresponding author. wong@ 123456dopavision.com

Article

Publisher Item ID: S2405-8440(22)01570-5 Publisher ID: e10282

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10282

PMC ID: 9420367

PubMed ID: 36042717

SO-VID: 306064b8-db2c-463b-9d28-0bec7269abd7

License:

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

History

Date received : 6 January 2022

Date revision received : 13 May 2022

Date accepted : 9 August 2022

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A review of the current state of research on artificial blue light safety as it applies to digital devices

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Most cited references 161

Melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells: architecture, projections, and intrinsic photosensitivity.

Evening exposure to a light-emitting diodes (LED)-backlit computer screen affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance.

Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness.

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