Why are LED Lights Bad for Your Eyes?

Light emitting diodes can damage eyes.

Light emitting diodes (LED) are made from crystals that may contain materials such as phosphorous in order to produce a distinct color. Overlapping colors, particularly the primary colors of red, blue and green, produce "white" light. No industry standard exists for brightness levels, but many manufacturers use the terms "super-bright" and "ultra-bright" to describe LED bulb intensity.

Warning

All LEDs do not require government-regulated eye safety labeling, but is is best not to stare into the beams at close range. TheLEDlight.com states that LED lights, whether white, blue, infrared or ultraviolet, are very bright and can be intense enough to injure human eyes.

Photochemical Action

Permanent eye damage can be caused when staring into high bright LEDs. Staring into an intense light, such as an LED, can have the same effect on the retina as using the sun's rays to make paper smoke or to start a fire using a magnifying glass. This is called photochemical reaction and the potential damage depends on the light intensity as well as the length of exposure.

LED Lamps for Reading

To date, there are no scientific studies showing that reading by LED light causes damage to the eyes.

References

• The LED Light: Basics on LEDs
• HD Warrior: LED Light Damage

Resources

• LED Definitions
• MD Support: Eyes of the Macular Degeneration Community
• Energy Star: Learn about LEDs