Smartphone blindness with regular mobile phone use at night in the dark

Temporary blindness due to smartphone use during the night
The bedroom should actually be taboo at night for smartphones. The bright light of the screens disturbs the inner clock of the person and can lead to sleep problems. But this is obviously not the only disturbance emanating from the small device. Because who in the dark looks too long on his phone, may under certain circumstances go blind for a short period of time. A team of doctors from the UK is currently reporting in the journal "The New England Journal of Medicine".

Bright light disturbs the internal clock
Taking the smartphone into the bedroom in the evening is a matter of course for many people. Just check the e-mails, read the news or send a few short messages before sleeping - who does not know that. In the process, devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptops should actually be banned from the bedroom. Because as scientists recently reported, the bright light of the display can quickly lead to sleep problems.

If you want to use your mobile phone in bed in the evening, you should always look with both eyes. Otherwise, a short "smartphone blindness" threatens. (Image: Syda Productions / fotolia.com)

Extensive tests do not explain
The nocturnal view of the smartphone, however, can obviously have other serious consequences. Because like Dr. Gordon Plant of Moorfield's Eye Hospital and colleagues report that two cases from England have shown that cell phone use in the dark can lead to blindness. The two women, aged 22 and 40, had independently experienced a temporary blindness in one eye, each lasting up to 15 minutes. Extensive tests followed, but the results of eye and cardiovascular examinations were normal. The review of vitamin A levels, ultrasound, MRA and a thrombophilia screening showed no abnormalities, according to the experts in their article.

Eyes adapt to different lighting conditions
First a questioning by the eye specialist dr. Gordon Plant literally brought light into the darkness: "I simply asked her, 'What exactly did you do when this happened?'", According to an article in the Guardian. It turned out that the women always went blind for a short while after lying in the dark and lying in bed for a few minutes looking at the glaring smartphone screen. That does not sound unusual at first - but because of the lateral lying position they had only looked with one eye, because the other one was covered by the pillow.

"So you have an eye that adapts to the light, because it looks at the phone and an eye that adapts to the darkness," Dr. Plant. After the women had put the smartphone aside, they could therefore see both with the "cell phone eye" nothing more. According to the physician, this would be because "it takes many minutes to catch up with the other eye, which is adapted to the dark." Accordingly, the physicians conclude that the "smartphone blindness" is ultimately harmless and, above all, easily preventable A message from Moorfield Eye Hospital. For those who do not want to give up their mobile phone in the dark bedroom should at least always look at the display with both eyes. (No)