By Carlyle Warner – Grade 6
This essay will mention some of the effects of light, and if it is good for you, or bad for you. Blue light comes from the color spectrum, blue light has the highest frequency of all the colors in the color spectrum. Blue light can be seen by many as both good, and bad. The main topics of this essay will be about how increased amounts of blue light can affect humans, how without some certain light people can get depression, and how blue light can be found everywhere we go, which is both good and bad for humans.
Light is needed to have life on Earth, but too much artificial light can cause health issues, and risks. As mentioned from Nature.com, “With the prevalent use of LED lighting and device displays, humans are subjected to increasing amounts of light in the blue spectrum.” (Nash) Too much artificial light from devices can interfere with our normal sleep schedules, where it can make you have trouble falling asleep, and staying asleep. Blue light could affect by prematurely aging them. Blue light could also affect our brain physiology with neurodegeneration, which is a disease where some cells in the central nervous system die.
Light is a powerful tool used to regulate processes in the body. People can get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression) when there is not enough light from the sun that’s getting to us, or when it is cold to go outside. Taking walks when there is a lot of sun is good, since it can boost your mood, and help your mental health. The wrong kinds of light can be dangerous to our sight. “Structures in the front half of the eye (the cornea and lens) are very effective at blocking UV rays from reaching the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eyeball. In fact, less than 1% of UV radiation from the sun reaches the retina, even if you aren’t wearing sunglasses. (Keep in mind, though, that sunglasses that block 100% of UV are essential to protect these and other parts of the eye from damage that could lead to cataracts, snow blindness, pinguecula, pterygium, and even certain types of cancer.) On the other hand, virtually all visible blue light passes through the cornea and lens and reaches the retina.” (Heiting) Staring at the sun could lead to eye strain, and fatigue.
We encounter light on a daily basis, like when we turn on a light switch, go outside, and many more! UV light can cause sunburns, skin cancer, and cause sunburned eyes. UV light does have some benefits though, like vitamin D. Our eyes aren’t good at blocking blue light, which can lead to eye strain, and more risks.
There is a lot of light we see everyday, it can sometimes lead to health risks, such as skin cancer, or the premature aging of eyes. We find light on devices such as tablets, computers, and more. There are some benefits to light though, like Vitamin D, or alertness, but people should be aware of the health risks of light.
Work Cited
Nash, T.R., Chow, E.S., Law, A.D. et al. Daily blue-light exposure shortens lifespan and causes brain neurodegeneration in Drosophila. npj Aging Mech Dis 5, 8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-019-0038-6
Heiting, Gary. Blue Light Facts: Is Blue Light Bad For Your Eyes? (2019). https://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/blue-light.htm