How Blue Light Affects Your Metabolism and Weight Gain
Those are electronic devices which are all used for their purpose, and these are the smartphones, tablets (including e-readers), and laptops. The blue light emitted from such devices unnaturally keeps one awake during the daytime and plays the role in the maintenance of circadian rhythms.
Some usage of electronic devices at nighttime is said to contribute to the affliction. Research shows that exposure to very bright light, primarily through screens in an electronic form, such as blue light from them, disturbs sleep and may interrupt metabolism.
Elevated Levels of Cortisol
It doesn't really matter what the cause is; too much screen time leads to severe health effects-any pandemic telecommuting, virtual schooling of kids at home, binging nonstop after midnight on TV, or surf social media." It can make a person less susceptible to light sleep due to the late-night activations of the screens by reducing the body's output of melatonin.
Blue light is also responsible for affecting REM sleep which further hinders memory formation thus making it difficult to retain any new information in your brain; hence going through your day just tired and exhausted. So, it may leave you feeling worse off even in the morning, although you might have had the same amount of sleep that would be restful if there were no screens at night.
It is established that light exposure at night increases appetite and decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to higher blood sugar and more substantial fat deposits. One way of treating exposure to bright light at night is to eat something within 15 minutes of turning such light on and, furthermore, wearing blue light filter glasses if available.
Decreased production of Melatonin
Blue light exposure at night inhibits secretion of melatonin, changes circadian rhythms, and changes in metabolism. This hormone, which occurs naturally and regulates human cycles of sleep and wakefulness, is long been known as a good natural sleep aid.
Studies showed that using electronic devices late at night puts people at risk for lower production of melatonin in their body but at the same time affects their productivity during wakefulness, thus increasing their chances of being obese, diabetic, or suffering a heart infection.
The authors later performed a comparative study on suppression of melatonin after exposure at night to either 5 or 10 lux of blue light versus dim white lighting and found that blue light alone decreased melatonin. Importantly, energy expenditure, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide production were lower among those who had been exposed to blue light as opposed to those who hadn't.
The scientists attributed the decline in energy expenditure, metabolic rate, and fat oxidation to blue light exposure. Melatonin regulates blood glucose and lipid levels, and exogenous melatonin has been shown to effectively treat people with jet lag or shift work sleep disorders as well as help obese women lose weight through increased insulin sensitivity.
Elevations in Blood Glucose Level
Blue light from our phones, tablets, computers, and televisions has long been identified to disturb our internal circadian rhythm and melatonin levels, produce adverse effects on blood sugar levels, and disrupt energy metabolism during sleep. Researchers found Tulane University after nighttime exposure to sources that gave blue light; they have great level of metabolic rate being lowered by sleep; findings support other studies linking blue light exposure to poor sleep and weight gain.
An examination of metabolic functions during sleep as affected by different lighting was what they tried to achieve. The dimensions used by the experiment were organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and LED lights. Over a two-hour exposure period, the treatments of blue light or no blue-light treatment were measured by hourly energy expenditure (EE) and respiratory quotient (RQ), an index of fat and carb metabolism.
Scientists also measured glucose level in the blood subjects after they drank a sugar-water solution. Blue light saw higher peak blood glucose levels, while the subjects drinking dim light had lower peak levels.
According to researchers, the short-term and long-term metabolic effects of causing higher blood glucose levels can eventually bring about type 2 diabetes and other such serious illnesses. They also believed changing lighting conditions in the evening would stimulate metabolism, and thus reduce risks to obesity as well as chronic diseas.
Reduced Fat Oxidation
However, too much bright blue light may harm the metabolism, as it does help us keep us alert and improve memory and brain function, as well as uplift mood. Bright lights at nighttime might prove detrimental to one's metabolic functions, interfering with fat oxidation.
A comprehensive study on the potential long-term impacts of such extensive screen use on health has yet to be conducted. Still, one thing is clear: exposure to bright blue light from modern screens has increased tremendously more than at any time in the past.
Studies have shown that excessive exposure to blue light late at night can disturb our natural sleep-wake cycle, causing poor rest and loss of energy during the day-with sleep more likely to suffer when exposed to bright blue light. Blue light is also known to interfere with the production of an eye health hormone whose activity exceeds that of changing the sleep-wake patterns.
In controlled studies, bright light exposure was shown in healthy adults to have a significant effect on the lowering of postprandial glucose responses as well as insulin by feeding with the combination of morning and evening bright light exposure for three hours either in the morning or the evening. Blue light exposure at night had a less pronounced increase in heart rate, but again, not much evidence exists regarding how different lighting affects metabolism and substrate oxidation.