Kindles and Blue Light – Are You at Risk?

Many people love the convenience of using a Kindle to read their favorite books. You can take it almost anywhere, the screen is pleasant to look at, and you always have the perfect lighting. But what about blue light risks? Kindles and blue light – are you at risk?

What is Blue Light?

Whether it’s your television, your laptop, desktop PC, or an e-reader, you’re exposed to blue light with these devices. Anything with light emitting diodes produce this light.

Is It Harmful?

For those of a certain age, your parents probably warned you about sitting too close to the television. Well, it turns out they were right.

According to WebMD

Blue light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, or wake-and-sleep cycle. But watching TV or scrolling through social media too late at night can have the opposite effect. The blue light stimulates your brain, slowing or stopping release of the sleep hormone melatonin. That makes it harder to get a good night’s sleep.

It is also thought to increase the risk of eye strain and other eye diseases.

Do Kindles Emit Blue Light?

Yes, they do. But depending on which one you own, the amount varies. For example, the Kindle Paperwhite does emit some blue light, but it is the one that has the lowest amount. Even though it has the least amount, it can still disrupt your sleeping patterns.

The Kindle Fire emits more than the Paperwhite. This is because it is just like any other full-functioning tablet. Consider it the same amount as if you were using a tablet or laptop. But, Amazon did release a feature in 2015 that allows users to switch to Night Mode in order to decrease the blue light it emits.

The Kobo line of tablets by Rakuten includes the Kobo Libra, Forma, Clara, and Aura. All of these tablets use similar e-ink displays to the Kindle Paperwhite, in fact, the tablets function very similarly. There is a difference though. It has a feature known as the “Natural Light” mode that allows you to adjust it to a more comfortable reading.

How To Minimize the Risk

Of course, you can limit your reading time. But you can also do things like invest in blue light blocking glasses if you read a lot. You can also buy a blue light filter sticker from places like Amazon.