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Are Grow Lights or LEDs Bad For Your Eyes?
Updated: Oct 24, 2022
A lot of people are concerned about eye health being affected by lights. They will ask that are grow lights bad for your eyes? Are led lights bad for your eyes? Are there precautions that you should take with LEDs? Are other types of lights such as UVB bad for the eyes and dangerous to humans?
In their grow rooms, I've noticed that some people utilize eye protection, but I also know plenty of people who don't use them when working with LED grow lights. I wonder how much eye damage the lights in grow rooms are causing.
Let’s first talk about LED Lights. Are LED Lights Bad for Your Eyes?
The light from LEDs is often much more focused and strong in a narrow beam. A light bulb emits light in all directions, therefore there isn't much intensity in any one direction.
It is safe to stare into a light bulb without risking eye damage. However, because LED lights provide a lot stronger, more intense light, doing the same thing with them might seriously harm the retina. Especially the LED grow lights are very powerful, far more powerful than a regular street light or indoor light, you should never gaze directly into any LED because that might harm your eyesight.
Given that LEDs may be harmful to your eyes. Please avoid staring into it, especially if you're close to the light, and if you can, turn the lights down when you are avoiding them while working.
Then, we will look into the grow lights. Are Grow Lights Bad For Your Eyes?
We must first comprehend the many types of light. We'll start by looking at the electromagnetic spectrum. All forms of electromagnetic radiation fall inside the electromagnetic spectrum. Energy that moves and disperses itself is known as radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation can take many different forms, including radio waves from a radio station and visible light from a grow light in your garden. Microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, x-rays, and gamma rays are among the various forms of electromagnetic radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum. There are grow lights on the market that are infrared or UV illumination, however the majority of grow room lighting comes from the visible spectrum. We'll concentrate on those radiation kinds.
What certain electromagnetic spectrum ranges damage the eyes? Gregory Good, a PhD from the Ohio State University College of Optometry, claims that nearly all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can harm the eye if their magnitude is high enough. Among them, Blue light, UVA, and UVB are the parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that do the most harm.
What damage of UV light, blue light and infrared light do to the eyes?
UV light - how does UV light affect eyesight
Are UV grow lights bad for your eyes? Both short-term and long-term UV radiation exposure can injure the eyes. Several eye conditions and illnesses, including macular degeneration, cataracts, pterygium, skin cancer, and photokeratitis, often known as snow blindness, are brought on by or made worse by exposure to UV light.
When very weak, UVB light has a very light purple hue. It's deceptive. Even though you can't really see much light coming out of it. UVB radiation can harm your skin and eyes. You may get a sunburn quite rapidly. If you stare at it closely, it might potentially harm your eyesight.
Working under this light is never advised; only work on plants should be done under it. Turn this off and avoid shining light in your eyes or on your skin while you're working in the space. Additionally, avoid working in a space where you can see it when it's on. It should only be turned on when no one is present in the room.
Blue Light - how does blue light affect eyesight
Almost all blue light that is visible makes it past the cornea and lens and ends up in the retina. Vision may be harmed by this light. It could cause the eyes to age prematurely. Overexposure to blue light can cause digital eye strain and retinal damage, both of which can eventually result in age-related macular degeneration.
When you need to do with the blue light, we recommend you to use a pair of blue light blocking glasses. These are specially designed to filter out the blue light that can harm your eyes. This kind of glasses could be used when you are doing computer work or reading at night.
Infrared Light - how does Infrared Light affect eyesight
There are three types of infrared light: A, B, and C.
The retina is vulnerable to infrared light with a wavelength between 780 and 1400 nanometers, called infrared A.
Your cornea, iris, and lens can be harmed by infrared B, which has a wavelength range of 1400 to 3000 nm.
The wavelength of infrared C, which harms your cornea, ranges from 3000 nanometers to 1,000,000 nanometers.
The infrared light that is harmful to your eyes can also come from sources like heaters and lamps. Infrared light can also affect your eyesight when you are exposed to sunlight or the sun’s reflections off water or pavement.
In conclusion, LEDs can be harmful to your eyes; avoid staring directly at them and, if possible, dim them while working with it. The illumination in grow rooms does harm to the eyes. The most harmful types of light are ultraviolet (UV), blue, and infrared. Long-term exposure can also cause damage, as can short-term exposure. The various lighting conditions have an effect on several areas of the eyes, not just one.
Although we have learned that LED and grow lights will do harm to our eyes, we will still use them in our daily life. LED has the advantage of having a long lifespan, which can save us money in the long run. The light is also more energy-efficient and durable than other types of lighting. And the grow lights can provide us with an environment that is conducive to plant growth, so as to ensure the better growth and yield for our plants. Instead of avoiding using those kinds of light, what we should do is to take the necessary precautions to avoid any possible harm to our eyes. We should get enough sleep and have a balanced diet, as these two things can keep our eyes healthy and strong.
