The Other Blue: Circadian Rythm & Melatonin Suppression

Man, I've just been scouring the archives--and it was fruitful. Around the margins, lots of good citations were smattered around the endless debate of possible retinal damage. But it sure is hard to comb out!


So let's forget everything about AMD, retinal damage, phototoxicity, and/or the lack thereof. A zillion threads here for that one already and no doubt a zillion more to come.

My question for this evening is 445-480 nm or so....Come on Down!

The next contestant is a Px whose doc is concerned about their heavy computer use and its impact on sleep cycle. I gather there's some room for improvement.

Crizal Prevencia prides itself on high transmission of this range so (perhaps ironically) circadian rhythm isn't affected. For general use specs, I never worry about Prevencia significantly filtering out Turqouise from sunlight. Conversely, my computer user isn't getting much filtration of the 'artificial suns' at home in the evening in a Prevencia lens, either.

Other "Blockers" are more blocky. I've seen the graphs. I've gotta tell you, though, I just don't sell a lot of yellow lenses. This is the first time I've had the Plinko disk drop into the $10k column where I actually need to figure out numbers... By the end of all this, I'll know his computer monitor and it's output metrics, hours Px is working and distance to screen. No problem.

What I don't know is...

Quantitatively, how much of this blue range exposure centered around 460ish of maximum melatonin suppression is enough to be symptomatic?

Hey, maybe after I crunch the numbers, Prevencia and its 17ish% filter will take care of this guy after all...in a single pair of general use PALs. ["Oooooooh!"]
Or maybe something else more yellow will be needed in a dedicated desk pair. ["Aaahhhhhhh!"]
Or maybe his monitor has a switch that takes care of the whole thing, and I can keep him Sapphire like 95% of my patients. ["Hahahahahahaha!"]

When I know the magic number, I'll know who is closest to the right price without going over.

This is Bob Barker, reminding you to have your pets....

If my memory serves its blocking transmission of blue light say 1 or 2 hours before bed time that will spur proper melatonin production so as to keep a more regular circadian rhythm. Otherwise low energy blue is perfectly normal and not a "bad" thing. Lets set aside marketing bs, can anyone give me evidence(papers, studies) that show that low energy blue is harmful, dibilitating etc other than decreased production of melatonin before bed?

"The impact of blue light on melatonin production was only recently confirmed, in 2001, when scientists found that light in the blue spectrum — the 415 to 445 nanometer range — disrupts melatonin. Because it is so bright, blue light is used widely in pretty much all LED devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. And because it is so hot, it appears to be wreaking all sorts of havoc on our eyes, on melatonin, and consequently, on our health." from https://gigaom.com/2014/09/01/what-i...g-to-our-eyes/


Looks like 415-445 for LEDs is the magic zone

You can also look up DIN SPEC 67600:2013, "Biologically Effective Illumination - Design Guides"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lensmanmd

"The impact of blue light on melatonin production was only recently confirmed, in 2001, when scientists found that light in the blue spectrum — the 415 to 445 nanometer range — disrupts melatonin. Because it is so bright, blue light is used widely in pretty much all LED devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. And because it is so hot, it appears to be wreaking all sorts of havoc on our eyes, on melatonin, and consequently, on our health." from https://gigaom.com/2014/09/01/what-i...g-to-our-eyes/


Looks like 415-445 for LEDs is the magic zone

You can also look up DIN SPEC 67600:2013, "Biologically Effective Illumination - Design Guides"

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So, I just saw your reply and have not read the article yet, does this confirm that blue LEDs are harmful for other reason? Or just that their pervasiveness makes avoiding them 1-2 hours before bed problematic for melatonin production?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kujiradesu

So, I just saw your reply and have not read the article yet, does this confirm that blue LEDs are harmful for other reason? Or just that their pervasiveness makes avoiding them 1-2 hours before bed problematic for melatonin production?

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Can't spoil your fun, buddy. Anecdotal evidence shows that lack of sleep will lead to other health problems - obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, etc. Gigaom is a good fast read.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lensmanmd

"

You can also look up DIN SPEC 67600:2013, "Biologically Effective Illumination - Design Guides"

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I meant that I didn't read this. -------^

But I can see how lack of sleep can lead to other conditions or at least contribute.

Text removed, by Chris Ryser.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris Ryser

You can tint 100% blue blocking lenses in your own dye pot any time you want since 1984. That is all old hat and has just been reactivated by some optical companies at very high prices.

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With all due respect Chris,

We are having a discussion here and would appreciate not being spammed with your wares. If you have references to the actual question, of course, we would be happy to read them.

One solution I've used for this is 100% blue light blocking fitover prior to bedtime. I use Live Eyewear's orange tint for this. (I do not know if any other manufacturers have a 100% blue light blocking tint, contact your preferred supplier for more information, you can also use a custom fitover [see the quote of Chris' deleted post for this]). I do it this way because it's a relatively cheap way for the patient to test whether it's really blue light near bedtime that is affecting melatonin production.

Remember that blue is good for reducing accomodative demand.