People are surrounded by so many things that have positive and adverse effects on their health. Oddly enough, they are unaware of these things or just do not care to acknowledge them. Many have a hard time believing that the long-term ramifications of something or the long-term benefits are worth worrying about.
Have you considered light to be one of those things you should concern yourself with? More specifically, blue light.
Blue light is something that has been on the radar of many researchers in the past few years, especially with the rise of video game play and televisions, cell phones and hand-held devices. Blue light has been proven to have some pretty serious adverse effects not only on vision, but also sleep. Too much blue light exposure, in particular during the evening hours, has shown to cause sleeplessness. Blue light suppresses melatonin production which in return disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythm in sleep. This poses many adverse and negative effects on metabolism, cognitive function, and even the immune system. Lack of sleep also has adverse effects on a critical component of muscle building; protein synthesis.
Many phones, tablets, and televisions now have blue light apps and software that you can use to limit your blue light exposure while using them. Due to the abundant amount of blue light young people are exposed to (especially video gamers), there are now eye glass lenses designed to limit the blue light that is allowed through.
So, if you keep finding yourself feeling sluggish for that morning workout because you could not sleep the night before and cannot figure out why, it could be from staring at your phone for hours while laying in bed or even watching too much TV. Keep your exposure to the blue light to a safe level, getting a few hours a day during the day only. This will not only help out with getting better sleep, but also keep you more alert and focused.
Workouts are so much better when you are alert and focused, right?
