Junk Light

I read a lot of health-related information, listen to health podcasts while I work out with most of my content coming from Dave Asprey’s podcast Bulletproof radio and his books.  I appreciate his content so much because its all so well-researched and very cutting-edge and he’s not afraid to bring up important topics that are taboo in the main stream medical community. A topic that I feel is overlooked is the effects of “junk” light on our bodies. 

When reading one of Dave’s books a few years ago entitled “Head Strong,” he called artificial light “junk light” similar to the bad effects of eating junk food! Each day we wake up and take light for granted, not thinking about how different spectrums of light positively or negatively affect us. Take for instance fluorescent lighting (which I am exposed to on a daily basis) is a form of junk light that leaves us drained over the course of the day. The mitochondria (the powerhouses in our cells that produce energy) in our eyes account for up to 15% of our bodies' energy. By filtering that junk light we could potentially gain 15% more energy in the day! Crazy!  

Another form of junk light is blue light. Blue light isn’t always bad but we should avoid blue light exposure in the evenings as it messes with our sleep by reducing the production of melatonin, our sleep hormone. That’s why everyone should be using night shift mode at least 2 hours before bedtime on your phones, PCs, and other electronic devices.  Another way to block blue light in the evenings is to purchase blue light and junk light blocking glasses. I’ve purchased these from a company called TruDark, which is a bit expensive. But Amazon has many other less-expensive glasses from a variety of vendors. Dave sums up the damaging effects of blue light on our bodies by saying “Blue light is the high-fructose corn syrup of lighting.” 

Here’s a rundown of the negative effects of junk light:

1. Decreases melatonin, the sleep hormone, and low melatonin increases your risk of cancer
2. Increases blood sugar, which contributes to type 2 diabetes
3. Decreases our daily energy up to 15% by creating more free radicals in the mitochondria in our eyes

How to avoid junk light:

1. Purchase junk light or blue light blocking glasses from companies like TruDark
2. Use night shift mode at least 2 hours before bedtime on all your electronic devices, especially phones
3. Limit use and exposure to LED bulbs in the home. Purchase bulbs that use more natural light like more hues of red, violet, and infrared spectrums
4. Try using more candles in the evening (I know this sounds medieval but this has a very calming effect)
5. Get more exposure to natural sunlight.  I believe God has provided everything we need to heal on this earth and to feel our best. The recommendation is at least 20-30 minutes a day of full sun light exposure without the use of sunscreen. A recent study of twenty-nine thousand women in Sweden who were tracked over twenty years concluded that “avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for death of a similar magnitude as smoking.”