Why Does Blue Light Make You Sleepless (and How To Avoid It)
Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night or are you sleepy in the morning? Blame it on the cyan color on mobile, computer and television screens.
No matter if you were watching a nature documentary or a dark movie, the screen was emitting cyan, a mixture of blue and green. Precisely this color keeps you awake because it inhibits the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin.
To avoid this problem, it is often recommended to stop looking at the screens two hours before bedtime, but the truth is that they are so addictive that few people voluntarily turn them off to do other things.
For this reason, researchers at the University of Manchester propose to manufacture the screens with a technology that allows the cyan color to be displayed or eliminated at will.
It is possible to sleep well again by removing cyan from screens
Some current devices have a “night mode” that attempts to reduce the insomniac effect of blue light, but the image appears orange and actually continues to emit a dose of cyan.
This is so because current screens work with the RGB system, which mixes three colors (Red, Green, Blue). The British researchers, who have published their work in the journal Sleep, propose to switch to a four-color system that allows cyan to be eliminated without showing an alteration in the image.
The same technology would enable cyan to be activated in the morning, when we want to be awake.
Reducing cyan increases the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone
Scientists found that they could effectively reduce or increase melatonin secretion by increasing or decreasing cyan on screens with new technology.
Research from the University of Manchester draws attention to the effects of light. Technology can be improved, but it is also important that we adapt our way of life, our habits, to the natural conditions that establish, through light, a biological rhythm of activity and rest.
Better: more natural light and fewer screens
To avoid sleep disturbances, it is advisable to wake up early and receive the intensity of natural light as soon as possible. A walk first thing in the morning can eliminate drowsiness and make us sleepy at night.
In the afternoon it is also advisable to reduce the intensity of the lighting and make it warm. It is a suitable light for relaxation, to chat and gradually introduce ourselves into the world of sleep.
And at night, while we sleep, the most complete darkness must reign in the bedroom. It is also highly recommended to eliminate any interference from artificial electromagnetic waves: cell phones and cordless phones or radio alarm clocks plugged in.
