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Why you should care about blue light if you have MS
When it comes to MS (and just about any health issue for that matter), common natural health advice sounds something like “eat healthier and exercise more.” Maybe throw in something about sleep and supplements and you’re good to go! But when was the last time you were told that light plays a major impact on your health? Not to say that diet, exercise, sleep, and supplements aren’t important, but we often overlook one of the most influential factors in health - our light environment. Blue light is an important part of the puzzle and this is particularly relevant to MS. In this article I’m going to explain why you need to pay more attention to the light that you “put into your body” and how it is crucial for MS.
What is Blue Light?
Blue light is the wavelength of light between 400-495 nm. It is found naturally in sunlight, especially in the morning and midday. In nature blue light is always balanced by other colours and light spectrums therefore does not have a negative impact on our health, in fact it actually plays an important role in regulating our circadian rhythms or sleep-wake cycles. Blue light is also found in artificial light, particularly LEDs which make up the majority of our “screen devices” (TV, phone, computer, tablet etc) and household lighting. As I’m sure you’re well aware, we have plenty of exposure to artificial blue light on a day to day basis. This becomes problematic for 2 reasons:
Artificial blue light from LEDs has a very large amount of blue light not balanced by other spectrums
We are exposed to blue light at all times of the day, not just when the sun is up
Blue Light and MS
Too much man-made blue light is not good for anyone, but it’s really not good for anyone with MS. I would go as far as to say that a bad light environment always contributes to the development of MS in some capacity. There are 3 key topics that relate specifically to artificial light and MS:
Circadian Rhythm (CR)
Your CR is a 24-hour cycle that regulates all of your biological activity. It is often referred to as your sleep-wake cycle but it does much more than that. Hormone release, body temperature regulation, metabolism, appetite, cellular repair - everything you could possibly think of! Light is the primary signal that regulates this mechanism, in particular natural light and the absence of artificial light. When you expose yourself to too much blue light (especially at night) this disrupts your CR and none of your biological processes can work properly. This includes the regeneration of Myelin (the insulation around nerve cells that is destroyed in MS), turnover of gut cells (implicated in autoimmune disease), and detoxification systems (removal of toxicity in the brain and spinal cord).
Mitochondrial Function
Your mitochondria are the power plants or engines of the cell. Without them, you cannot produce energy. Without energy, your cells can not carry out the necessary tasks to function properly. As an example, Glial cells are responsible for the production of myelin and without adequate energy production from the mitochondria this process can not occur!
Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in MS (LINK https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31083577/), no one knows exactly why this occurs but we do know that excessive blue light damages the mitochondria.
DHA
This is one of the primary Omega-3 fatty acids found in the brain, spinal cord and myelin. Artificial blue light exposure destroys DHA in the cell membranes which prevents the formation of healthy myelin. It is crucial to include seafood in your diet to obtain DHA but we also have to protect it by reducing our blue light exposure.
How to To Reduce Damaging Effects of Blue Light
Get more natural light!
As I mentioned earlier blue light from the sun does not cause issues because it is perfectly balanced and only present at the times of day when we need it. Getting outside first thing in the morning is the best way to regulate your circadian rhythm. Mid-day sun also provides UV-B light which we create Vitamin D from. Low Vitamin D levels are strongly associated with MS. The closer to the equator you go, the more UV-B light is present. This is a major reason why MS is almost exclusively a disease of higher latitudes (LINK https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21478203/).
Use a Blue Light Phone Filter
Change the settings on your phone to reduce the amount of blue light present (it’s more than just nightshift). I recommend keeping these filters on all day but it is especially important at night.
Use a Computer Screen Filter
For your computer screen download IRIS or F.lux to filter out blue light.
Change your Lighting Environment
During the day, avoid using LED lights when possible and opt for natural light. Opening a window is ideal because even glass filters out most of the red, infrared and UV light from the sun leaving a high proportion of blue light.
At night after the sun sets, the best option is to use candles as your only source of light. Another option is to use a red LED bulb or pink salt lamp. Any blue light at night will disrupt your circadian rhythm and sleep quality so this step is very important!
Get a Pair of NaturoBlocks Blue Blocking Glasses! (www.naturoblocks.com)
This is one of the simplest yet most effective health investments you can make. NaturoBlocks Daytime Screen glasses block 88% of harmful blue light and specifically target the primary wavelength emitted from LEDs (455nm). Use these any time you are on screens or if you are stuck in a suboptimal lighting environment during the day. Don’t cheap out! Most “blue blockers” fail to block the wavelengths emitted from screens and only block 3-9% of blue light.
At night if you are exposed to any blue light, use a pair of nighttime glasses that block all of the blue and part of the green spectrum. NaturoBlocks Nighttime Sleep glasses (coming soon!) block 100% of 400-550nm which is required to maximize your melatonin release and sleep quality.
Use code BREADCO at checkout for 10% off at Naturoblocks.com!