The healthy computer Silicon Valley doesn't want us to know about
Our nearsighted world | Daylight Computer
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
1. What light has taught us about our health
2. Is blue light harmful?
3. How we’ve tried to bring our office outside
3a. What spectrum of Sunlight passes through our windows?
4. Trends in child myopia
5. What are the symptoms of myopia?
6. What are the financial costs of myopia?
7. Cost-effective strategies to treat nearsightedness
8. Why is the Daylight Computer healthier?
9. What’s the golden thread leading us home?
“Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”
~ Wayne Dyer
As I sit at the kitchen table right now typing this article, I’m reminded of not only why, but how I write. Normally I’d be hunkered down in a quiet basement of radio silence with the windows flung wide open, letting cool air and particles of light rush in that feed my eyes and nourish my soul.
Lately the winter Sun has been sitting low, too low for it to shine upon my basement keyboard. Yet sunbeams have been pounding the southern face of our kitchen wall with glee - so I here I am.
I used to think if my body was warm, I was healthy, when in fact that fuzzy blanket of comfort was my enemy. I knew nothing about how the non-thermal aspects of light could make me feel happier, more calm, or energize my digestion and increase focus. Until one cold January nine years ago, I learned just how restorative those seemingly unforgiving winter winds could be.
Bohdanna and I had just returned from our honeymoon, and she had spiraled into a deep depression after decades of misprescribed pharmaceutical poison. I began to scour the internet for solutions, but the answer had been staring us right in the face. Old medical texts from the 1800s had advised those with melancholy to “take up as much exercise outdoors as they could bear.”1 Bohdanna took my hand as we launched ourselves into what seemed like a tundra that winter. The light returned to our life, and the fire came to live once again upon the mantle of our heart.
Ever since I’ve abandoned the little screen of my phone, and embraced the Big Screen of our sky, I don’t miss out on a yesteryear gone by. Serene daydreams abound in boredom, and through the silence we see the storm.
Why was I so enraged about the onslaught of new cell towers cropping up faster than dandelions in spring?
What made me get on this soapbox in the first place?
I wanted to be the one sounding the alarm in a sea of denial.
I wanted to end the suffering that I had seen in my own family.
The flood of chronic disease was all around me, and all I wanted to do was turn off the tap.
I thought that if all I did was convince a small minority of others to abandon their cell phones, everything could change. In a world that wanted more, how could I convince them having less was the solution?
I always knew we were all addicted to our phones, but didn’t appreciate how much light played a role. Blue light spikes our pleasure chemical dopamine, which in turn depletes us of calming, restorative melatonin.2 These cold blue torrents rip through our nerves, contributing to nearsightedness, epileptic seizures, Parkinson’s3, and can exacerbate autism.4
Is blue light harmful?
If you google “Is blue light harmful?” many mainstream websites, including the American Optometric Association5, will say there’s nothing to worry about. Doctor of Optometry and member of the Accredited Standards Committee for Ophthalmic Optics Karl Citek states that blue light exposure can affect melatonin release and thus affect sleep, but maintains that there is not enough new evidence to show our devices cause retinal damage. We in fact have the evidence6 7 8- but most doctors aren’t seeing it in the right light.
"The amount of blue light experienced from the sun outdoors greatly exceeds what any typical device can emit." - Karl Citek
Is this a fair statement? Are our screens anything like the Sun?
Do our screens also emit green, yellow, and ultraviolet wavelengths?
Do our phones contain red and infrared light, which regenerates our retina?
No our screens do not.
Why is it healthier to bring our office outdoors?
When we’re in the sun, our bodies undergo hormesis. This type of acute stress, caused by solar radiation and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths can be beneficial in the right dose. Yes - the sun does contain more blue light than our screens. However this form of blue produces natural levels of dopamine for us, which helps us with our pupillary reflex and overall eye health.9 However if we only had blue and UV without infrared or amber, our skin and eyes would be permanently damaged. Infrared light is what regenerates our tissues since it helps us create subcellular melatonin - the most potent antioxidant on Earth. Due to its longer wavelength, infrared (IR-A) penetrates deeper, and cleans up and repairs cellular debris.
What happens when we sit indoors all day in front of a screen, and behind windows that contain neither UV or infrared light? We’re blinded by the addictive digital hamster wheel, and become nearsighted to the visions of a brighter tomorrow.
What spectrum of Sunlight passes through our windows?
Today I embrace light as much as humanly possible - but the reality is that I’m often stuck indoors typing away, not because I fear being cold on my deck. I type indoors because I use a computer, and its screen doesn’t compete too well with the sun, which is thousands of times brighter. I’ve tried lots of setups outside, I constructed a cardboard box “cubicle”, and retro-fitted beach chairs with a laptop shelf. This worked very well in the morning, but as the afternoon sun hit, the umbrella would go up so I could see the screen, and I’d miss out on that tan.
Once I couldn’t use my computer anymore, I’d break out the good ole’ pen and paper, and keep absorbing all the free photons of energy raining down. In the evening, red lights and candles (which also emit infrared light) are our friend. In today’s age of efficient, soul-less AI algorithms, what could be more productive than actually enjoying the creative process?
Many entrepreneurs who venture into the web of Silicon Valley believe they’re going there to change the world, but come back changed for the worse. Silicon Valley used to be a place for geeks, who worked there because they had no where else they wanted to work. Today it’s become the place to be, for those seeking prestige and fortune the likes of Goldman Sachs. Although there are few who return with their hearts intact, there are some heroes who make it through, to deliver the message of their odyssey to the rest of us.
A computer designed for deep focus and well-being
Anjan Katta, with the help of Tristan Scott M.S. and many others, have made the science of computers an art. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tristan for our The Electro⚡Health Summit! Here’s some of our interview, where we discuss the current conundrum of modern screen technology:
To see the entire interview, join our Summit:
Ever since the release of the iPod, we had form meet function, yet health was never part of the equation. Today those of us on the forefront of tech wellness are embracing the ultimate algorithm - the natural intelligence of the human body. When our minds are clear, we can direct our lives with mission and vision. Dystopian executives like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates know about guiding life with vision - literally. They understand blue light’s addictive nature all to well. It’s why they never gave their children wireless devices.10
A myopic future awaits those who can’t see far ahead
As children are constantly pummeled with never-ending jabs of blue light, they’re not only primed for addiction later in life, but are also more at risk of becoming nearsighted. Children under 10 years of age absorb 60% more blue light into their retina as the lens of their eyes is not yet fully developed.11
When the retina is damaged, this can lead to various diseases of the eye, including myopia (nearsightedness). It’s been estimated that cases of myopia will increase from 2.6 billion in the year 2020 to 4.8 billion by the year 2050 (half of the world’s population).12 Projections indicate that by 2050, myopia will affect nearly 40% of children and adolescents globally.
The high and rising prevalence of myopia has become a major global health concern because of the potential long-term complications, including cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinal detachments.3 Myopia, in particular high myopia, can lead to blindness, and can radically alter one’s life on all levels of their career, education, and relationships.4
Myopia occurs when we can see objects up close clearly, but objects that are far away look blurry. Our eye focuses light in the wrong spot—just in front of the retina instead of directly on it. The retina is the light sensitive layer at the back of the eye. It acts like a film that captures light and is therefore responsible for what we see.
Myopia causes us to have a longer eyeball than average. As a result, the retina can become thin and prone to damage. The blood vessels of some people in this area can leak blood or fluid. Notably, 62% of myopia patients develop a more sever form, called myopic choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) before the age of 50.13
Why has there been an explosive rise of neurodegenerative disease such as ALS, MS, autism, ADHD, Young Onset Parkinson’s, cancer, and myopia, in younger populations? If epigenetics maintains that most chronic disease stems from our environment14, what is the major differentiating factor between the young and the old? If children are playing bingo and doing crosswords, chances are they’re doing it on a screen more than their elders.
What are the symptoms of myopia?
Headaches.
Eye strain, squinting
Some additional symptoms of myopia to watch for in our children include:
Shortened attention span
Holding objects close to their face
I remember my parents telling me to move away from the TV, otherwise I’d go blind and fry my brain. I listened. Why aren’t our elders now taking that same advice when it comes to their phones?
What are the costs of myopia?
The health costs associated with myopia are high mainly due to the direct costs of eye correction. The estimated annual cost of myopia in 2022 was approximately $4 to $7 billion in the United States. 5
The cost increases when myopia-related morbidities cause visual impairment and blindness. For instance, patients with myopic CNV incurred a direct medical cost of $1743. In 2015, the global potential productivity loss due to uncorrected myopia was $244 billion.
Based on the chart above, one could spend upwards of $10,000 in a lifetime on eyeglasses, and more than $6,000 in contact lenses and surgery every decade, that’s if you don’t step on, lose those glasses, or lose your eyesight permanently.
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Cost-effective solutions in treating myopia
The good news is: there are two proactive, cost-effective ways of dealing with myopia:
1️⃣ Amplify outdoor light aka Get outside.
2️⃣ Modify the indoor light by adjusting screen and lighting technology.
[ Note: We like using the adjustable Iris screen filter for our computers (it doesn’t work so well for iPads and iPhones). Here’s a link to Iris (about $15 per year). ]
A 2015 study15 conducted in Guangzhou, China, investigated whether increasing outdoor activity at school could reduce the onset of myopia in children. The study involved 12 primary schools with first-grade students averaging 6 years old. Among 6-year-old children, the addition of 40 minutes of outdoor activity at school compared with usual activity resulted in a reduced incidence rate of myopia over the next 3 years.
The better news: we can now use screens that we’re actually able to see outdoors - which not only reduces eye-strain, but helps us optimize the full benefits of sunlight.
Introducing: The Daylight 🌞 Computer
Many of you may be wondering: Why is Roman promoting tablets?
Has he turned to the dark side?
Dark coffee, dark chocolate, and dark wine, I admit are a vice. But in general I am, as we all are, trying to find a way out of the bleak technocratic night, and into the light. Perfection is often the enemy of the good. The fire and brimstone approach of preaching to all that they should live like I do, without wireless, isn’t effective when people aren’t given alternatives.
While many of our readers use a hardwired desktop connection, the fact is many still use phones and tablets. Why not eliminate one harmful part of our modern lifestyle - artificial blue light?
The Daylight Computer is completely free of blue light, and has a flicker-free amber display. If you want to enable the nightmode (amber, red tones) that comes pre-installed on most other devices, like your iPhone, chances are you’ll also be increasing the flicker (fluctuating light) effect as well. While most of us can’t perceive flicker, it’s still sensed by our nervous system. Along with eye-strain and headaches, flicker can also trigger epileptic seizures. This occurs since the dimming technology most screens use is called pulse-width modulation (PWM), which rapidly turns the brightness of our screens on and off. Our eyes aren’t meant to tolerate this type of rigid, square electrical impulse.
This Daylight Computer uses DC (direct current) dimming, which reduces the stress upon our nervous system tremendously. We can also hardwire the Daylight computer using its USB-C connection16, or shut off Wi-Fi completely with airplane mode. The stylus doesn’t run on bluetooth, but is “passive”, meaning it gets power from its proximity to the tablet.
The golden thread leading us home
Now - are we saying that we should all take our tablets everywhere we go, and never disconnect from technology? Do we think parents should just throw Daylight computers at their children at the first sign of distress? No - first and foremost - there is no substitute for full spectrum sunlight. Even the gloomiest winter day is ten times brighter than the average office. When we change our environment, we change our genetic destiny. Marching ourselves, and our children out the door first thing in the morning must be our primary priority. Bohdanna and I haven’t missed a Sunrise for over a decade, and we’re not planning on doing so anytime in the near future. Okay - maybe there was that one time… when it was raining hard over Christmas break with 40mph winds, and we huddled by the door sipping on our coffee…but we felt appropriately guilty.
Whether you were born in the 1620s or the 2020s, you came into this world tethered to a cord and yoked to the pure source energy of the Sun. Most of today’s children have had that connection to source severed, and thrust instead into a maze of screens bewildering their senses. Many parents are overwhelmed, underslept, feel that there’s no escape, and have surrendered to the virtual babysitter that leads them further down the dark halls of our digital labyrinth.
What if there was a way we could throw ourselves, and our children, a lifeline?
What if there was a ball of digital yarn we could relay, so no matter how far they venture into the maze, they may yet find their way back?
Back to a time when we were all connected to the light that bore us, and shines within us. Indeed we need very little to make our journey back, out of the darkness, and into life.
Additional Resources:
Hear how Anjan Katta created The Daylight Computer on The Danny Jones Podcast:
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Whitaker, R. Anatomy of an Epidemic. Crown Publishing, 2011.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
"IEEE Recommended Practices for Modulating Current in High-Brightness LEDs for Mitigating Health Risks to Viewers," in IEEE Std 1789-2015 , vol., no., pp.1-80, 5 June 2015, doi: 10.1109/IEEESTD.2015.7118618.
https://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/health-and-wellness/blue-light-hype-or-much-ado-about-nothing?sso=y
Ziółkowska N, Lewczuk B, Szyryńska N, Rawicka A, Vyniarska A. Low-Intensity Blue Light Exposure Reduces Melanopsin Expression in Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells and Damages Mitochondria in Retinal Ganglion Cells in Wistar Rats. Cells. 2023 Mar 26;12(7):1014. doi: 10.3390/cells12071014. PMID: 37048087; PMCID: PMC10093228.
https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/blue-light-effects-on-your-eyes-sleep-and-health/2022/08
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/protect-your-eyes-from-harmful-light
Ostrin, L. A. (2019). Ocular and systemic melatonin and the influence of light exposure. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 102(2), 99–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/cxo.12824
Behar-Cohen F, Martinsons C, Viénot F, Zissis G, Barlier-Salsi A, Cesarini JP, Enouf O, Garcia M, Picaud S, Attia D. Light-emitting diodes (LED) for domestic lighting: any risks for the eye? Prog Retin Eye Res. 2011 Jul;30(4):239-57. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2011.04.002. Epub 2011 May 14. PMID: 21600300.
Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(5):1036-1042. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006
Silva R. Ophthalmologica. 2012;228(4):197-213.
Wallace DC, Fan W. Energetics, epigenetics, mitochondrial genetics. Mitochondrion. 2010 Jan;10(1):12-31. doi: 10.1016/j.mito.2009.09.006. Epub 2009 Sep 29. PMID: 19796712; PMCID: PMC324571
He, Mingguang & Xiang, Fan & Zeng, Yangfa & Mai, Jincheng & Chen, Qianyun & Zhang, Jian & Smith, Wayne & Rose, Kathryn & Morgan, Ian. (2015). Effect of Time Spent Outdoors at School on the Development of Myopia Among Children in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 314. 1142-8. 10.1001/jama.2015.10803
Link to instructional video on hardwiring The Daylight Computer
What a wonderful article!
Facts, references, problems, logic, and solutions....as only Roman can explain!
Perhaps I'm reading into what is actually written, yet I sense that Roman wants to slap people in the face and say "wake up."
Instead he carefully states his case, presents the facts, evidence, and closing arguments...you'd make a great attorney Roman (I'm happy that you're doing what you're doing instead).
Thank you for the information and keep on doing good!
God Bless
Hi, Roman, just here to mention the following: Arthur Firstenberg's website cellphonetaskforce.org is gone, and the domain is parked here: https://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/lander
A while ago I tried to connect with Tanja Rebel, who has been directory board member of the taskforce about the fact that the website could not be reached, due to the fact (there was a message on the screen by I do not remember, an internet group) that there were no updates in maintenance.
She never reacted.
Since the domain is free at GoDaddy, maybe you Roman, could claim it, and do something good with it?
Greetings!
Antoinette