My mom hates turning on lights in the evening. She would rather squint at her book by the window, squeezing the last bit of sunlight out of the day than flip the light switch. We still tease her about it. But if I’m being honest, she has a pretty good point. Nothing beats natural sunlight. Even the innovative blue LED lights that are meant to mimic the sun don’t come close to the real thing. But even if they could, there are greater issues at stake than trying to imitate sunlight. As it turns out, blue LED lights can damage your eyes for a lifetime. 

Blue LED Lights Could Be Damaging Your Eyes 

Over the years, LED lights have become extremely popular due to their energy efficiency and life span. However, there is growing evidence that they are dangerous to the eye. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) recently released a study on this topic. They found blue LED lights to be toxic to the retina, and that they could potentially cause serious related health risks. (1, 2) 

ANSES’s study explains that this risk is due to the intense wavelengths used to create blue LED lights, as well as their high level of brightness. Anyone could be at risk when exposed to such harsh lighting. But ANSES found that children, people who work with LED lights more frequently, and those with existing eye diseases are more susceptible. (1, 2)

ANSES isn’t the only one who found blue LED lights to be dangerous. Several studies performed on rats support this theory as well. Researchers found blue LED lights to cause retinal damage, photoreceptor damage, and macular degeneration (vision loss). (3, 4, 5, 6)

What Does Color Have To Do With It? 

In order to understand why blue LEDs can be so damaging for your eyes, it’s important to know how they work. LED stands for “light-emitting diode”, which essentially just means a conductor that gives off light. And that’s exactly what LED lights do. As electrons move across the semiconductor within the light bulb they release photons. These photons are visible to the human eye, and are what we call “light”. (7)

Now, you’ve probably noticed that different light bulbs have distinct tones and colors. This is because the light produced by LEDs all have different frequencies. Lower frequencies produce red light, and higher frequencies produce blue light. White LED lights are a mixture of red and blue frequencies. This is why blue LED light is more dangerous than other colors. Since blue light is higher on the visible spectrum it can more easily penetrate your eyes and cause serious damage. (8, 9)

Do Your Eyes A Favor 

There’s no doubt that LED lights are more cost and energy efficient. And the good news is, you don’t have to give that up! As long as you steer clear of the blue side of the spectrum, you should be good. And don’t forget that many screens also use blue LED lighting as well! Try to limit your use of flat screen LED televisions, computer monitors, smartphones, and tablet screens, especially at night. Even being more aware of what light you are exposed to throughout the day can really do your eyes a favor. (10)