Happy August! We hope you are having an awesome summer filled with sunshine, nature and local foods! This month we will be talking about the damaging effects of artificial light and how you can help yourself. For starters, get outside as much as you can without shoes or sunglasses!
Please do not fear the sun. “Vitamin D levels are a biomarker for optimal health. Why? Because it describes your relationship with the sun. The sun causing cancer is a false narrative, played out by the medical boards to keep you in the dark and far from optimal. The money made from sick and diseased people reaps in some serious profit, keeping people away from the sun has never been so beneficial to big pharma. It should make you question whether a white powder pressed into pill can replace our planets whole energy source. Low vitamin D levels aren’t just linked to cancer they are linked to an array of health problems. Everything fundamentally is programmed by light.” Learn more here.
This Month’s Resources
Artificial Light
How does blue light destroy your body? Isolated blue light has a destructive impact on every single non-visual photoreceptor in the body which are proteins that sense specific light wavelengths in our environment. Why is blue light from our devices different than blue light from the sun? The sun NEVER gives off only blue light, Mother Nature offers blue light exposure with the full light spectrum. Take a deep dive down this rabbit hole here.
“Blue light is the component of natural sunlight that sets our body’s inner clock (called a circadian rhythm). In this way, it controls our sleep/wake cycle, production of key hormones and neurotransmitters, metabolic activity, and, as a result, has an effect on virtually every process in the body.”
“In natural light, you will never find blue light frequencies without without plenty of red and infrared. However, in order to preserve energy, most screens/bulbs completely omit red and infrared light. This is an unbalanced spectrum of blue light that confuses the circadian rhythm, and hormone production.” Learn more about the differences between blue light from the sun versus a screen in a very easy to understand Instagram post.
“60% of adults have at least one chronic disease. Depression is up 2-fold since 2000. There’s a compelling argument to be made that artificial blue light is a major root cause for other health epidemic.” Learn more in this Instagram thread.
Some say eliminating light while sleeping could even reduce obesity. “Sleeping with a television or light on in the room may be a risk factor for gaining weight or developing obesity, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health.” We have evolved to a natural light environment consisting of sunlight during the day and darkness at night. Exposure to artificial blue light at night can disrupt hormones and other biological processes in ways that raise the risk or health conditions such as obesity. Learn more here.
If you want to learn more on this topic from neurosurgeon Dr. Jack Kruse, check out thishour and a half podcast that discusses the influence of blue light and addictive technology in the tech industry and other topics such as big pharma, the CIA, and the dark side of American history.
How You Can Help Yourself
Below you can find some tools and products we have started to use since learning about the harmful effects of blue light on circadian health. Please do not feel overwhelmed with the large list of items you see… we have purchased these things over a long period of time. It may be extreme to some but we are doing everything we possibly can to improve health and live as nature intended.
Blue light blocking glasses! I’m sure you have heard of them by now or have seen us with yellow, orange, and/or red glasses on. Unfortunately clear lenses do not block the harmful spectrums of blue light. See a true test to this in a one-minute video here! We have been experimenting and researching blue light blockers for about a year and a half now. Our top 2 are Midwest and RaOptics. Use the code AY108 at checkout on either site for a discount! Both companies have blue light blockers for kids and Ra has prescription ones. Learn more about how blue light blockers work here.
Another thing to note: your skin also absorbs the negative side effects of artificial blue light. Watch this 3-minute video of Maria Menounos and Dan Huber talking about blue light glasses where they also mention how your skin can absorb the light as well. When under bright artificial lights it is best to cover the skin and/or wear a hat to protect your head/brain.
We also love Spectra for red light night lights and their red light pen. Both products are free of blue and green light, allow for natural melatonin production, and preserve night vision. Something else we LOVE from them are their light dims which are LED dimming stickers. We use them on our kitchen appliances, TVs, and anything else that has a small annoying light! Use the code bitcoinyogini at checkout for 15% off.
Interested in red light bulbs that don’t emit any blue light? We love Hooga bulbs that do not emit any blue light or flicker. Midwest also sells red light bulbs and red night lights (they are an Ohio company too!). These are so easy to travel with and switch out in a hotel or Airbnb.
The Chroma Sky Portal light is also a good choice for a table or desk top lamp. You can set it on a gentle white tone or red as the sun sets. We plan to use the light this winter when the light levels are low in Ohio and to help prevent seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The Sky Portal connects your workspace to a natural outdoor environment, providing a mood-lifting experience that can counteract the effects of SAD through Opsin 3 & 4 stimulation. Learn more about light and SAD from this supporting study. Use the code AY108 for 5% off.
Something else we do is turn our phone screens red after sunset. How can you turn your iPhone screen red at night? Learn how here.
Want to block blue light on your screens? We have been very happy with our screen protectors from Ocushield. We have them for our phones and a magnetic one for laptops. The laptop screen protectors also have a privacy filter and leave your screen true to color with a clear picture. These screen protectors prevent digital eye strain and headaches, improve sleep, protect eyes and skin from blue light, and are designed by Optometrists in the UK. They are registered class 1 medical devices with the MHRA and FDA. Use the code AY108 at checkout for 15% off.
Do you use your phone flashlight all the time like we used to? We recently found a solution! We use a Mito Red Light panel and discovered they make a book light which has become our evening flashlights. They also make red light lamps and other cool products! Learn more about the benefits of red light therapy and Mito Red Light in an email blast we did in November 2023.
Other things you can do: Use candles/fire as a light source, use less lights in general, minimize screen time as much as possible, use incandescents with low flicker, and spend as much time outside as you possibly can in the sun.
We are so grateful to have partnered with so many magnificent companies in the health and wellness space. We want it to be known that we partner with them because we use and recommend the products anyway! We 100% stand behind each and every company and product that we are affiliated with. Most of which we use daily! To see what other brands we partner with please see our affiliate page here.
Daylight Computer
The computer, de-invented. The Daylight Computer Tablet.
- The world’s first 60fps paper-like computer.
- Blue-light and flicker free. No eye strain.
- A healthier, more human-friendly computer that is distraction free for learning and creativity.
- Designed for deep focus and wellbeing.
- A sovereign computer for sovereign individuals.
When it comes to screens, blue light blockers and screen protectors are great steps… but many do not know the harmful effects of the flicker that our devices have. Many don’t even know that our screens have a flicker because you can’t see it! You can learn more about flicker from our technology and how lighting systems is an absolute nightmare in another easy to follow Instagram post.
We are so happy to have come across the Daylight computer. A circadian friendly device that you don’t need blue light blockers and screen protectors for! Why? There is literally NO blue light or flicker.
Optimized for reading, writing and productivity, the Daylight computer eliminates the distractions of the usual entertainment based computer experience, for adult and child. What they value:
- Disconnecting from tech. Devices like the Apple Vision Pro are intended to keep us hyper-connected, to get us doing everything on their tech, all the time. The Daylight Tablet strives to make us more deliberate about how we spend our time, choosing when to connect, and choosing when to disconnect.
- Health. Technology exacts a heavy toll. Screens damage our eyes, long days on the computer wreck our mental health, and hours sitting in the same chair damage our bodies. We at Daylight believe in finding ways to use technology, while also prioritizing health. Such as using a tablet out in the sun (instead of a dark and isolated room), using a dim amber screen in the evening (instead of a bright blue light that will alter a healthy circadian rhythm), or even putting your tablet away (instead of doom scrolling).
- Focus. With a monochrome screen, Daylight hopes people are less drawn in by the tactics of social media companies – just one more scroll. Just one more video. Just five more minutes! We could have made a color screen, but we intentionally went with monochrome to limit distractions and help people find their focus.
Retreats
We have 2 upcoming events!
- October 4-6 Allison and Paisley will be facilitating another Halloween themed retreat! Join us this October for a Wild Witchy Womxn’s Yoga Retreat.
- February 10-16 Allison and Andrew will be hosting another international retreat in El Salvador!
- Please see our retreat web pages to learn more, find the schedule, and fill out the application.