Is it true that light from my laptop and my phone are aging my skin?
Several anecdotal reports are highlighting that the blue light emitted by your laptop and smartphone may be damaging your skin. It’s all happening under your nose, and I bet you didn’t even see this bad news coming.
Our techie lifestyle and how it is affecting how our skin ages
According to a 2015 report from the U.S.-based non-profit Common Sense Media, Americans between the ages 13 and 18 log an average of nine hours of screen time daily; and those between the ages of 8 and 12 log an average of six hours daily. According to the global think tank Nielsen, American adults are worse. They spend at least 11 hours a day tinkering with their gadgets.
Here are at least five ways why typing out your day, watching videos on your tablet or playing games on your smartphone could be causing your skin to age prematurely.
- The metals from which your gadgets are made may be irritating your skin. So does dust floating around your room, which is energized and attracted to the magnetic field created by your screen, according to some recent studies. As you know, when skin is irritated, damage and aging almost always follows.
- The light and the decreasing focus of your eyes makes you squint while you stare at your screen. Did you know your eyes need to work doubly hard to concentrate on reading words up close versus if those same words are high up on a billboard?
- Staring down at your screen tends to make gravity work against your skin. Isn’t this why you have to incline your very flat tablet up a little? So you don’t have a harder time reading versus when it is lying flat on your desk? However, when you are in such a prolonged stooped-down position, it’s just as bad on your skin and eyes. It’s as if you were sleeping on your back.
- Bacteria infest your gadgets. Studies have shown your gadgets are nastier than that public toilet seat you dread! With bacteria come blemishes, and a breakout is always a possibility.
- Gadgets emit radiation as well. This is particularly true for old desktop and laptop screens. The most recent ones already are using LED and blue light technology — which begets other serious problems. These include disrupting the body’s natural circadian rhythm, which causes other, more detrimental, health effects, including sleeping disorders, psychological problems and even the development of certain types of cancers.
How to beat the dark side of blue light
While research on this subject is young, there are ways you can protect yourself from gadget-caused signs of skin aging. Try the following tips:
- It is alright to put on sunscreen but it may not be as effective with blue light as it is with UVA and UVB. Call in antioxidant reinforcement. Load up with it through your food and apply it generously on your face.
- Every once in a while, make a deliberate effort to gaze around, at least if you can’t get up and walk away from your desk for a while.
- Refrain from squinting and straining your eyes by placing your skin at the same level as your eyes.
- Clean and disinfect your gadgets regularly.
Conclusion:
Our techie lifestyle has taken over our daily routines so much that it is beginning to affect our health, including our skin’s health. Yet, a conscious effort to cut down on screen time may save your skin from aging too soon.
