Let’s be honest, most of us spend a fair amount of time staring at screens. But, like moths drawn to a flame, people tend to overlook the harmful effects that prolonged exposure to blue light has on our eyes and our health. According to Harvard Health, exposure to light at night suppresses our secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences our ability to sleep. And blue light does so even more powerfully. LED lights, which are used to light the screens of most electronic devices we use today, tend to produce more blue light than traditional light sources.

For those who live for the late-night gaming or movie marathons, prolonged screen time often comes at the cost of eye strain and sleep deprivation. Children and adolescents with underdeveloped irises are also particularly vulnerable to retinal damage from blue light. Of course, trying to cut down on our screen time is a sure way to reduce these risks. But, with the dropping evening temperatures, movie nights are becoming more tempting. When this is the case, it’s important to consider which type of TV you’re watching on. Fortunately, there are displays on the market that offer our eyes comfort and protection.

LG’s OLED TVs were nothing short of an evolutionary step forward in display technologies, utilising millions of self-lit pixels that can turn on and off on an individual level. But, more importantly, LG’s OLED TVs are the first display panels from any kind of TV to receive the Eyesafe® certification. They officially emit the lowest possible level of blue light while achieving the highest blue light safety rating by global safety science company Underwriter Laboratories (UL). This is 50% lower than the standard set by the International Electrotechnical Commission. OLED displays also use no backlighting, eliminating backlight bleeding and allowing them to produce perfect blacks and a level of contrast beyond any traditional display technologies.

When it comes to protecting viewers’ eyes, OLEDs have two other significant benefits beyond low blue light emission: flicker elimination and no discomfort glare. In 2021, UL gave its tough-to-achieve ‘Discomfort Glare Free’ marketing claim verification on all of LG Display’s OLED TV panels – a first for the display industry. Screen flickering can also result in significant eye fatigue, but because OLED TVs have no backlighting and the lowest possible response time on the market – a lightning fast 1 millisecond – they don’t produce any flickering.

OLED TVs have doubtlessly taken the at-home cinematic experience to a whole new level. And, thanks to industry-first safety ratings, they’ve made it possible for us to enjoy movie marathons and prolonged gaming sessions for longer – without having to sacrifice our precious sleep time or eye health. Considering how much time we all spend behind our screens these days, we all could do with a display that looks after our eyes and offers that extra element of peace of mind.

To learn more about LG’s OLED TVs, visit lg.com/za/oled-tvs.