I was telling my friend the other day about all the benefits of blue blocking glasses for sleep and it took a while but after citing multiple studies and explaining it, he finally had an aha moment.

I thought to myself “when did I first purchase a pair of blue blockers?” So the other day I looked at our Amazon account and found that I bought my first pair of ” blue blocking glasses” in 2012.

I can’t believe it was that long ago.

I’m so grateful I did because nothing has changed my life more than making sure I’m regulating the light that I’m exposed to.

I remember watching the original blue blocking glasses commercials back in the early 1990s.

They were advertised in a way that stressed that UV frequencies from the sun could damage our eyes. The other selling point back then was how these glasses that blocked blue light actually made everything look “crisp” and more “clear”.

When it comes to sleep, wearing blue blocking glasses is absolutely mission critical for me.

Back then people really didn’t understand the science of blue light, melatonin production and more like we do now.

I’m going to tell you right now that yes, blue blocking glasses for sleep is definitely worth the hype. In order for them to work right and for you to get all the benefits it’s important that you know how to wear them, why you should wear them and how they affect your sleep.

A little later in the article I will share exactly how I wear my blue blocking glasses to optimize my sleep.

Before that though I think it’s first important for you to understand why blue light is so harmful and how it impacts our biology.

Blue Light Suppresses Melatonin

People call melatonin a “sleep pill” but they don’t really know that melatonin is a hormone and a powerful antioxidant. I would argue that because of its unique ability to donate electrons up to 10 times per molecule to scavenge free radicals, it’s the most powerful antioxidant we could ever take. There are other substances that have more antioxidant capabilities but they can only donate one electron per molecule. To be able to repeat this multiple times is unique only to melatonin.

Here’s a direct quote from the first paper I linked to,

“Melatonin does not redox-cycle. It undergoes molecular rearrangement, effectively removing the free electron from the system – a so-called suicidal antioxidant. Each of these products of rearrangement is also a potent antioxidant in its own right. Furthermore, most of these processes involve more than one reactive oxygen species (ROS) per step, so that one melatonin molecule could scavenge up to 10 radical species before the final metabolite is eliminated from the body.”

When a cell has an uneven amount of electrons than it become destabilized. Let’s say it has encountered a toxin and loses an electron which brings the number down to 3. In order for this cell to regain structure and stability it needs to gather another election bringing the number up to 4.

There needs to be cells that will recognize this and donate an electron to the damaged cell. This is where antioxidant come into play. If another cell donates an electron then the donor cell needs to get an electron to maintain an even number of electrons for stability.

You can see how this can cascade.

Because melatonin is a circadian rhythm regulator (melatonin is not a sleeping pill) and powerful anti cancer antioxidant, it’s very important to make sure that we’re supplementing it as well as creating it through our diet, lifestyle and environment.

It turns out blue light suppresses melatonin.

Ideally you should be making it endogenously via morning sunlight and possibly supplementing it at night if you’ve been unable to block blue light during the day or early evening.

There’s blue light in the sun which is natural, normal and necessary. But blue light from computer screens not only damages retinal tissue but also causes reactive oxygen species to proliferate in the eye leading to conditions like macular degeneration, glaucoma, myopia, cataracts and more.

You want to avoid anything and everything that lowers melatonin in your body.

And nothing lowers it faster than the blue wavelength of light.

Blue Light Negatively Impacts Circadian Rhythms

Our body runs off a daily, monthly and seasonal “circadian rhythm”. This means that after a certain amount of hours awake and exposed to light, we naturally start to feel tired. Each organ also have a phase cycle attached to it. Every 12 hours a particular organ is either cleansing and detoxifying or building and growing. These happen at the opposite side of 12 hours per day.

Light when it enters the suprachiasmatic nucleus sets the daily biorhythm for that 24 hour cycle. The SCN is the “master clock” which is controlled mainly by light frequencies from the sun. High intensity blue light (typically 6,500 kelvin) at the wrong time of day can alter the SCN and change which hormones then get secreted.

In point of fact we’re telling our body (through light in the eye) that it’s noon in the middle of summer on the equator. In reality it could be 9pm in the middle of Winter in Canada.

Here’a quote from this paper that brilliantly describes what I’m talking about…

“The blue light emitted from digital screens can increase the risk of some cancers through affecting the melatonin level and biological rhythms. Given this consideration, digital screens as well as other sources of artificial light at night (ALAN) can affect the master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus and decrease the nocturnal melatonin synthesis in the pineal gland, causing disruption of circadian rhythms.”

Blue Light Increases Cortisol Levels

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the outter cells of both adrenal glands in response to any perceived biological stress. Cortisol is an interesting hormone and much of the time gets demonized. What’s interesting is that cortisol regulates blood pressure, immunity, metabolism of fats and even regulates blood sugar levels.

But the kicker here is that cortisol also regulates…..you guessed it, sleep and wake cycles.

Turns out blue light impacts cortisol levels and therefore effects sleep and the different phases we enter into during sleep each night.

“Exposure to blue light in the evening significantly increased morning cortisol levels, indicating a disruption in the normal sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm.” – Source

And….

“An 8-hour exposure to blue light (448 nm) significantly disrupted the 24-hour circadian rhythm for cortisol levels, similar to melatonin.” – Source

You can probably tell by now after reading all of the biological impacts of blue light that wearing blue blocking glasses for sleep is incredibly important.

The best way to regulate blue light is by wearing yellow glasses during the day, orange glasses after the sun sets and red glasses 2 hours before bed. Never wear blue blocking glasses while outside. Nature is perfect the way it is.

It’s man made light that you want to be more like nature, not the other way around.

No need to wear blue blocking glasses outdoors.

Blue Light & Hormones

As you can see adrenaline is a hormone that’s impacted by blue light as is melatonin and cortisol. Now your sex hormones (the main ones being testosterone, estrogen and progesterone) are no different. They too are negatively impacted by high intensity blue light.

This study below speaks mainly toward women’s hormones. Check out this quote…

“Exposure to blue-enhanced light led to immediate changes in reproductive hormone levels, indicating a potential disruption in normal hormonal balance.”

And guys don’t think you’re in the clear. The study below talks about how blue light exposure from screens impacts both men and women.

“Nighttime exposure to blue light resulted in significant disruptions in hormone levels, including increased cortisol and altered reproductive hormone secretion, which could lead to adverse health outcomes.”

There are many more studies showing how exposure to blue light from fluorescent lighting and indoor LED lights have terrible effects on hormone levels, while sunlight exhibits the opposite effect.

Funny how nature has a way of fixing everything.

Blue Light Increases Oxidative Stress

Oxidation occurs when there’s a loss of electrons due to stress, toxins or some toxin or poison. When there’s oxidative stress it means there’s electron loss happening acutely (in the eyes for example) or systemically (all over the body). If there is too much electron loss and not enough antioxidants to donate electrons the body is under what’s called oxidative stress.

Turns out blue light causes this on the skin (if you’re living or working under LED or fluorescents lights for example) as well as systemically.

This study highlights my point exactly…

“Blue light exposure significantly increased oxidative stress markers, which could contribute to the observed changes in endothelial function and blood pressure.”

And this study talks about what I just mentioned, the impact blue light has on skin…

“Human skin exposed to blue light may produce free radicals as a result of the decline in carotenoids. It is thought that this oxidative stress on melanogenic precursors causes damage.”

Think it’s the sun that’s causing skin cancer? It’s blue light and polyunsaturated fatty acids. That’s a killer combo.

Blue Light & Cancer

Cancer is a big one. It’s the scourge of our day. President Nixon declared “the war on cancer” in 1971. Yet more people by percentage are getting cancer now than they were back then.

Why are so many people being diagnosed with cancer? Food could be a major reason. Processed foods, MSG, glyphosates, seed oils, PUFAs and more all majorly contribute to the rise in cancer.

But my contention is electricity, WiFi and nnEMF in the form of blue light are the major biological drivers of all cancer.

Here’s the conclusion of a study I think you’d find very interesting that supports my hypothesis,

“Conclusion: Artificial light at night is a significantly correlated for all forms of cancer including lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. Immediate measures should be taken to reduce artificial light at night in the main cities around the world.”

How many people are talking to their oncologists about the role of blue light as a major driver of cancer?

And once again…

The best way to regulate blue light is by wearing yellow glasses during the day, orange glasses after the sun sets and red glasses 2 hours before bed.

Blue Light & Diabetes

This study shows how blue light at night does indeed impact blood sugar levels potentially leading to diabetes.

“In this review, we propose that exposure to light at night alters circadian rhythms and metabolism, contributing to metabolic disease, including diabetes.”

And in this study which focused on diurnal rodents showed a strong correlation between artificial light at night (ALAN), blood sugar levels and diabetes.

“Blue light exposure at night significantly impaired glucose tolerance and increased sugar intake, suggesting a potential risk for the development of diabetes.”

Conclusion

So you can clearly see at the very least a correlation between blue light and sleep patterns. I see blue light as the primary cause of circadian rhythm disruptions. I can tell you that as soon as I started making sure I wore my blue blocking glasses properly, I never slept better.

Here’s how I wear them.

I don’t let one photon of unprotected light hit my naked eyes after sunset and before I go to bed. If I have to itch my eye for example, I’ll literally take them off with my eyes closed until I’m done itching them and I don’t open them until my blue blocking glasses are back on.

I keep them on until I’m laying in bed. Then I close my eyes, take them off (with my eyes still closed) and then put a sleep mask on.

So from the time the sun sets, until I’m laying in bed in total darkness my eyes are 100% protected from blue light.

So are blue blocking glasses for sleep with the hype? If you get the right ones and use them the right way (like I mentioned before) then they can be a complete game changer.

Questions:

• Did you know any of this about blue light?
• Is it still kind of hard to believe?
• Have you tried blue blocking glasses?
• Did they work?
• Did they not work?

Comment below.