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LED Lights Can Damage your Eyes


Protect your skin against the sun, they said.

Protect your liver from toxins, they said.

Protect your eyes from LED Lights, they didn't say.

Marketing is great when it come to LEDs. When you buy those lights, you feel good: you are helping the planet AND you are also saving some bucks... But what they have been hiding from you is that these lights can be very toxic to the eyes.

In fact, many studies have shown that we should avoid excessive exposure to LEDs (they were conducted on animals because studies on humans are not possible for ethical reasons). I have myself worked on a project during my PhD (reference below) that showed that LEDs damage the retina (inner part of the eye).

Unfortunately, nowadays we cannot avoid LEDs. They are used everywhere: in TVs, phones, street lights...

What you CAN do is follow the tips below in order to protect your eyes from excessive damage:

1. Avoid LEDs that are white and have a blue undertone (they are the most toxic ones)

2. Toxicity is related to the distance from your eyes and the time of exposure. For example, if your night lamp is a LED, do not put it very close to you and do not use it for a prolonged time (exact numbers are not defined by the health authorities yet)

3. Avoid exposing your kids to LEDs (<10 years old)

4. Use the night mode on your phone and do not look straight at it first thing in the morning, as this is the time when your eyes are most sensitive.

I believe you can't avoid all toxins, you can control only a portion and that should be enough to live a healthy life.

References:

1. Jaadane I, Villalpando Rodriguez GE, Boulenguez P, Chahory S, Carré S, Savoldelli M, et al. Effects of white light-emitting diode (LED) exposure on retinal pigment epithelium in vivo. J Cell Mol Med. 2017 Dec;21(12):3453–66. 2. Krigel A, Berdugo M, Picard E, Levy-Boukris R, Jaadane I, Jonet L, et al. Light-induced retinal damage using different light sources, protocols and rat strains reveals LED phototoxicity. Neuroscience. 2016 Dec 17;339:296–307.

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Disclaimer: If you suffer from a clinical condition, please do seek appropriate advice from your general practitioner or therapist. Opinions are mine and do not reflect any opinion of companies I have / currently work for.

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