News hardware Your screens are making you old! Science says so
You have surely heard someone around you tell you not to stay constantly on your screens. But then, what are the real risks incurred if we are exposed to a lot of blue light?
Blue light makes us age?
A team of scientists set out to find out what blue light could do to our body. For many years, we have heard everywhere that this famous “blue light” could be harmful, especially for our eyes.
Blue light is simply a special short wave that is part of our visible spectrum. We can notice this type of light between wavelengths of 620 nm (red) to 350 nm (violet). These scientists from the University of Oregon wanted to study the effects of blue light on our cells. To create this experiment, the researchers used Drosophila, or “fruit fly,” and exposed them to long periods of time under blue light.
For 10 to 14 days, the scientists noticed that the fruit fly cells showed signs of premature aging and loss of motor skills. To have more telling samples, the scientists divided the insects into two groups, one which will be exposed to blue lights, and the other not, what is called a “control” group.
It was by studying the differences between the two groups that the scientists were able to notice the effects of light on the group subjected to blue light. We then notice differences in the levels of metabolites in the cells, organic compounds that are used for the proper functioning of our cells. Exposed fruit flies show signs of damage to their cells, especially on their skin and fat. Scientists also note the drop in production of a metabolite called glutamate, which is used in particular to manage communication between neurons.
Should we ban our smartphones and PCs from our lives?
The clichés leaned above all towards negative things vis-à-vis this famous blue light, but nothing concrete had been discovered before that. Indeed, some studies tried to show that blue light could affect our quality of sleep, or even our eyes, but this is the first time that a scientific study has demonstrated a concrete impact on our health.
But beware, the study was carried out on fruit flies, which share a genetic code similar to that of a human, therefore organisms much smaller than ours. If the study shows effects in the latter, nothing indicates the same results on a human organism.
The chemical processes at the heart of our cells between fruit flies and humans are much the same, so scientists draw some conclusions. Blue light can affect the aging of our cells just like fruit flies, but it would take a much more aggressive and long exposure for us to notice the same effects.
Of course, tests on humans could not be carried out, but we would like to remind you that the results were only demonstrated after 10 days of constant exposure… But we have leads on a potential danger of blue light, therefore of our screens, on our body.