LED Lighting May Be Contributing to Depression, Diabetes, Obesity and Cancer, Study Finds

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An international team of opthalmologists, neurologists and biologists warn that the blue light in LED bulbs and screens presents an untold risk to human health… LEDs are far more disruptive to circadian rhythms than incandescent, halogen, and even fluorescent lights, study finds

The invention of the incandescent light bulb in the late 19th century, followed by halogen and fluorescent lamps in the 20th century, changed the human lifestyle, the authors of a recent study write. Easy access to light, even at nighttime, made us more productive, educated and industrious.

But the invention was not without its downsides, the scientists say. Exposure to light at night disrupts our circadian rhythms, potentially leading to a host of health problems, ranging from “depression to diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cancer.”

The problem has been exacerbated since the nobel prize winning invention of the blue light-emitting diode (LED) of the 21st century, the authors of the report say, as blue light is the highest intensity light on the color spectrum and therefore, the most disruptive to our circadian rhythms.

Almost all LED lamps currently on the market use a combination of a blue LED with a yellow fluorescent coating to produce whitish-looking light. LEDs have a far higher ratio of short-wavelength (460 nm) blue light than incandescent, halogen, and even fluorescent bulbs, they say.

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