Which LED Color is Best For Your Eyes?

Some of the most harmful light for your eyes is UV (ultraviolet light) such as what is emitted by the sun or a fluorescent light. Exposure to UV light can lead to cataracts and blindness. Therefore, protective eyewear is recommended where fluorescent lighting is used. Your eyes need to be protected from long-term and repeated exposure to UV lighting.

The best kinds of lighting to work with include warm light sources, such as natural light and artificial warm light. Natural light would be light from the sun with the UV rays shielded from you in some way. Some LED bulbs can produce artificial warm light. The color that light gives off depends on its temperature. You can see the temperature an LED bulb will give off in the form of kelvin. When shopping for an LED bulb, you will notice the specs for a bulb mention a number as low as 2700K or as high as 6500K. The kelvin is being measured there, or in other words, the color of the light. The lower the temperature, the more yellowish-red it is. A higher temperature corresponds with blue or violet light. An LED bulb that gives off natural yellow light would have a kelvin around 2700K-3500K. These are the LED bulbs you would want to buy to mimic the light of the sun.

Blue light is a form of light that that can be harmful on the eyes in high or extended doses. Overexposure may cause eyestrain, dry eyes, headaches, and tension in your neck and back. Blue light comes from modern appliances such as televisions, computers, and smartphones. It is very difficult in this age to not have to use any of these appliances. The best things you can do if you experience any of the mentioned symptoms is to purchase blue light filtering glasses or simply take a break from looking at blue light sources. A few LED bulbs can reach a Kelvin temperature above 5000K, which emits blue light. These LED Bulbs are mainly used for task lighting or home decorations. This means that blue light emitting LED bulbs are easy to avoid unless your workplace has them. A job that requires high Kelvin temperatures is usually a position where you need protective eyewear for your work related tasks. Even if this were not the case, wearing blue light filtering eyewear is always a good idea. When it comes to harmful artificial lighting, the main concerns are UV light and blue light. Lighting technologies outside of LED are going out of favor. Unless you notice a place is using outdated lighting technology you should not have to worry about UV light. An LED that mimics the color of the sun does not emit UV light like the sun does. Some LEDs however, emit blue light, which may lead to eyestrain if proper eye health guidelines were not followed. Blue light is less harmful than UV and is also easier to avoid. The best lighting for your eyes are LEDs that mimic the brightness of the sun. Lighting with lower Kelvin temperatures are required if you worry about your overall eye health.