LED lights is damage to our eyes

But with a recent study by Complutense University of Madrid claiming up to 99 per cent of the cells that protect the retina can be damaged by LEDs, should we reconsider our gift choices this Christmas? Hmm,
maybe not quite yet.

The Spanish researchers say LEDs produce high levels of radiation in the ‘blue band’ of the light spectrum, which can cause damage over time. And with their use ever increasing, the report authors say we should be worried. ‘This problem is only going to get worse and worse,’ says the university’s Celia Sanchez Ramos.

To put all this into context, you need a basic grasp of the electromagnetic spectrum. It ranges from low-frequency waves such as radio waves (eg TV signals), to microwaves (mobile phones), infrared (cable TV) and visible light. It then moves to the more dangerous, high-frequency end – from ultraviolet (sunbeds) to X-rays (used for medical images) and gamma radiation (which kills cancer cells).

‘LEDs produce light at the same frequency range as sunlight; it’s called visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum,’ says Henry Lau from the Institute of Physics. ‘Unlike sunlight, however, the light from LEDs is not intense enough to damage someone’s eyes. Only ultraviolet and higher frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum can cause damage to cells.’

The report still managed to ruffle some feathers, though. So where has all the fuss about LEDs come from? Bobby Qureshi, London Eye Hospital consultant opthamologist, points to the test conditions used.

‘The Madrid study tested someone looking at the equivalent of a 100watt light bulb, at a distance of 12 inches for 12 hours a day,’ he says. ‘And this isn’t something a normal person would be doing.’

He says although all light is radiation, only certain frequencies can cause harm.

‘The closer you go to the UV end of the spectrum and beyond, there is potential to cause damage in the retina,’ says Qureshi. ‘The rest of the spectrum doesn’t. As the blue colour wavelength is getting close to UV, it’s perceived as being more dangerous to the retina.’

But Qureshi says there is no cause for alarm because the full light spectrum – including the blue end – exists around us all the time.

‘If you’re looking at a blue colour then it’s in the blue end of the spectrum,’ he says. ‘It stimulates the blue sensitive cells in the retina but it’s not at all damaging to the eye.’

He says the study wasn’t without value, though, because it shows damage can be caused if you experience extremely intense blue light for an extended period of time. But he says the most we will experience from LED lights is eye strain or computer vision syndrome – headaches, dizzyness, tired or sore eyes and fatigue caused by excessive screen-time.

And even with the average person now spending nine hours every day glued to a screen (including computer, TV and mobile devices, Qureshi says it would take a huge increase in use to cause any permanent retinal damage.

‘Your eyes also have a physical barrier to the spectrum of light,’ he says. ‘When light comes in, it passes through the cornea and the lens, which absorb much of the light. As we age, people develop cataracts on their lens and this is another of nature’s ways of preventing the blue end of the spectrum of light from coming into the eye.’

His analysis will come as a relief to those who snapped up one of the 234million tablets research company International Data Corporation estimated were to be sold globally this year. For them, and the rest of us already glued to our screens or stringing up the fairy lights, it would appear there’s no need to turn out the lights just yet.