LED and the Human Body: How Does it Affect Us?

For thousands of years, man relied on natural light and its cycles. Then with the advancement of artificial lighting, everything changed. Now we can constantly have morning, day or night, winter or summer. One of these innovations was the white light-emitting diode (LED) light which is now massively used to light the screens of our mobile phones and tablets. 

But not only that. LEDs are getting used for illuminating the streets, monuments, and buildings—also big, flashy neon lights. Think Las Vegas and casinos. All those bright and strong lights seem very inviting, with suitable fun activities and entertainment in an over-the-top way. That’s why even Casino Online Roulette or any other online casino or slot game uses the same kind of colour pallet and bright, intense colours like they are coming from a LED lights. They’ve proved themselves to work, and they encourage people to play betting games.

Ironically, even though we seem to be attracted to LED lights, many say they are not suitable for our bodies. But how does LED light affect the human body? Does all that flash, increased productivity and control over the environment (whether morning or night) have a steep cost?

Bad for Melatonin, Bad for Sleep

Without a doubt, too much exposure to LED light is no good. In particular, the problem arises with melatonin. The blue light (LED light has a blue peak in its emission spectrum) suppresses melatonin production, a natural hormone that the body starts producing in the afternoon and reaches maximum production during hours of darkness. 

And what is melatonin used for in our bodies? Its job is to synchronize our biological clock and cue the light-dark cycle. This process prepares the body for sleep which includes adjusting the body’s temperature, hormone production, blood pressure, etc. Or, to put in lay man’s terms: LED light can cause problems with regular sleep. So one of the first pieces of advice you will hear when you have sleep problems is to turn off all LED lights at least an hour before you go to bed. That is correct.

We should also mention that melatonin also has neuroprotective, antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. So it would help if you got enough of it.

Does it Cause Other Things?

LED light doesn’t cause cancer, but it sure doesn’t help. Several studies (including one involving NASA and the International Space Station) suggest a correlation between exposure to higher levels of artificial blue light and an increased chance of breast and prostate cancer. This fact is especially evident in shift workers who are obviously getting more exposed to artificial lights and whose melatonin levels probably aren’t excellent.

In short, LED is bad for your sleep, in general, your whole night-day rhythm, and you should be keeping it down to a minimum before going to bed. Instead, try to stick to natural light, that big yellow circle in the sky called the sun. And regular orange artificial lighting is also better for you than LED.