Watching TV is one of the world’s favorite past times, and it’s estimated that 1.4 billion homes in 2019 have at least one television in their homes. With so many people tuning in each day or week, it’s easy to become concerned about how TV could be affecting our eye health.
Can watching too much TV hurt your eyes?
The answer is a little unclear. While most experts agree that watching too much TV probably won’t cause permanent damage, there are some issues that can develop from staring at a digital screen for long periods of time. Digital eye strain is a temporary but potentially harmful result of staring too long at a screen. It can potentially cause:
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Sleeplessness
- Lack of focus
- Double vision
TV isn’t the only perpetrator. Any kind of digital screen can potentially cause these problems, including Smartphones, tablets, computers and even the lightbulbs in our homes.
Does TV emit blue light?
In short, yes. LED screens that are popular these days emit a great deal of blue light, which can be potentially harmful to the eyes. Therefore, watching too much TV, especially late at night, can suppress melatonin production that makes us ready for sleep.
What can I do to reduce these symptoms?
When watching TV, especially at night, there are a few tricks that can help reduce the amount of blue light exposure.
- Turn down the lights in the room – this will help you to see the screen better after the second step, which is
- Turn down the brightness display on your TV. Most TVs these days have a wide range of brightness settings you can adjust. You can even save some to set it at your ideal brightness for the nighttime hours with the push of a button
- Wear blue light filtering lenses while watching screens. BluTech Lenses filter blue light at 455 nm, which is where it is most harmful.
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