LED Lights | Fatal Conveniences™

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Optimizing your home to have the most energy-efficient options is always a good idea. And when it comes to light bulbs, the LED variety is the best eco-friendly choice due to the small amount of energy they use to run. In fact, LED bulbs are considered “the future of lighting” due to their efficiency, affordability and impressive lifespan.  However, we may be becoming a little too reliant on this type of artificial light.

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LED bulbs are America’s primary lighting source, phasing out both halogen and fluorescent bulbs in 2019.

This episode is Part II to last week’s Artificial Light episode. This time, I wanted to focus on LED lighting. Now, while it’s true that LED lightbulbs are the best eco-friendly option out there, they still can be problematic to your health. No, I don’t want you to throw out all the lamps in your home. But I do want you to be more aware of what all this artificial light is doing to your eyes, brain, and body.

Most people spend the majority of their lives indoors. Whether you’re at home, at work or at school, you’re in areas not lit by the sun. Instead, these spaces are lit by some form of artificial light. Not only that, most almost every electronic device – smartphones, TV, tablets and computers, even calculators – all have screens that function with LED technology. So what is all this artificial lighting doing to our health?

My main gripe with LED lights is how severely it messes with your circadian rhythm. We all have an internal clock that controls our sleeping and waking hours, and it’s ruled by the sun. When we limit our sun exposure, and instead rely on artificial lighting, we’re essentially confusing our internal clocks. Sure, LED lights will help your brain wake up in the morning, but they will also slow down its melatonin production, the “sleep hormone.” This can make it harder to fall asleep at night, or cause you to wake up repeatedly. 

There are ways to minimize LED lighting’s negative effects. These simple tweaks could make a big difference in the quality of your sleep, and your health overall. So let’s learn all about LED tech, and how to use it in a way that doesn’t negatively impact our well-being.