‘This is an asbestos-level health crisis’: Neuroscience professor reveals dangers of LED light on Huberman podcast

Dr. Glen Jeffery highlights concerns over indoor LED lighting, which can harm mitochondria, especially in children.

We’re surrounded by natural and artificial light every single day, yet we rarely stop to consider how deeply it can affect us. One of the biggest culprits is also the most common: LED lighting. Ubiquitous in homes, offices, and public spaces, LED bulbs may cause notable harm when we’re exposed to them for long periods. On a recent episode of his podcast, Professor of Neurobiology Andrew Huberman spoke with Professor Glen Jeffery — a neuroscientist at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology — to break down what prolonged LED exposure really does to our eyes and overall health.

Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology says that prolonged exposure to indoor LED light affects mitochondrial health.(Unsplash/representational)

Huberman also shared an Instagram post on Tuesday, which pointed out a couple of things that we need to keep in mind regarding exposure to light.

“LED bulbs damage mitochondria,” Andrew wrote as a part of the caption to his Instagram post.

He added that using a full spectrum light can improve Mitochondria.

All that Dr. Glen Jeffery said

“Let's talk about indoor lighting, because I am very concerned about the amount of short wavelength light that people are exposed to nowadays, especially kids,” Andrew said.

Jeffery replied that some researchers think this is an issue at the same level as asbestos health crisis.

“LEDs came in, and people won the Nobel Prize for this, very rightly at the time, because they save a lot of energy. The LED has got a big blue spike in it, although we tend not to see that. And that is even true of warm LEDs, and there is no red,” he said.

He further pointed out that the light found in LEDs, when they use them, while looking at mice on the retina, they do watch the 'mitochondria gently go downhill'. They are far less responsive as their membrane potentials come down because the mitochondria does not breathe very well, compared to the same energy levels that we would find in a domestic or commercial environment.

Here are 5 things that Dr. Glen Jeffery advised to keep in mind:

• Blue light does not necessarily need to appear blue. “I know that’s confusing but what we’re talking about is short wavelength light: and people use the term blue light as a proxy for that,” Andrew said.
• Incandescent bulbs tend to be full spectrum meaning they emit short, medium, and long wavelengths. That is good because the long wavelengths improve your mitochondria and offset what appears to be the damage of short wavelengths.
• Sunlight is full spectrum. So getting sunlight in your eyes and on your skin each day can help offset some of the mitochondrial damage being done by LED bulbs.

  It’s also good for you in a number of other ways, including hormone health, energy, skin health, eyesight and much more. Obviously you don’t want a sunburn so don’t over expose yourself to UV. The best way to avoid doing that is to just check the UV index in your area.

• Red light and infrared light devices can be very helpful, but are not necessary. If you can use incandescent bulbs at home do it but as a general rule: try and make your days as bright with sunlight as you can without getting a sunburn get outside in the am if possible and then work near a window if you can.
• At night, really be mindful of not getting too much LED bulb exposure. Dim it down. Consider short wavelength blocking glasses. It’s not all about screens & sleep. It’s about mitochondria.

“Meanwhile, please put any questions you have in the comments section below this post and as always, thank you for your interest in science,” Andew further wrote.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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