Study Finds Blue Light Filters On Smartphones Might Not Be That Useful After All

In the past few years, smartphone makers have started introducing what are known as blue light filters to their devices. Basically, these filters help reduce the amount of “blue light” emitted from our mobile devices which apparently play a role in disrupting the sleeping patterns, especially if you use your phone right before bed.

However, a new study conducted by researchers at the Brigham Young University and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have found that this doesn’t seem to matter that much. The study, which involved a group of 167 young subjects, found that the blue light emitted from our mobile devices did not play a key role in disrupting sleeping patterns.

They found that while not using a phone right before bed did lead to an improvement to sleep quality, it was not enough to be conclusive that blue light is bad for us. Instead, the researchers suggest that it could be the psychological engagement of using a smartphone before bed that plays a bigger role in affecting sleep quality.

According to Chad Jensen, one of the researchers working on the study, “While there is a lot of evidence suggesting that blue light increases alertness and makes it more difficult to fall asleep, it is important to think about what portion of that stimulation is light emission versus other cognitive and psychological stimulations.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, Medical
Tags: Health, study