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Tech

10th Aug 2018

Blue light from your phone screen may speed up blindness, study finds

Dave Hanratty

Blue light phone blind

Might be time to stop endlessly scrolling…

Browsing through your favourite device for a prolonged period of time may have a highly detrimental effect on your health.

Scientists have claimed that blue light from smartphones, laptops, tablets and other digital devices damages vision and accelerates blindness.

A new study from the University of Toledo reveals that prolonged exposure to blue light triggers poisonous molecules to be generated in the retina’s light-sensitive photoreceptor cells.

This in turn causes macular degeneration; an incurable condition that affects the middle part of your vision.

Macular degeneration is especially common with people in their 50s and 60s, and is credited as the leading cause of visual deterioration in the US.

Blue light has both a shorter wavelength and a greater amount of energy when compared with other colours, and can cause gradual damage to the eyes.

Researchers noted that once a photoreceptor cell is dead, it’s gone for good.

The eye’s cornea and lens cannot block or reflect blue light, which has become an unavoidable constant presence for many people.