The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has clarified a media report claiming that the use of mobile phones could be as damaging on skin as being out in the sun.
The Agency, which is the nation’s primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety, said the article quoted scientific research from 2015 relating to blue light exposure to declare that hours of scrolling could have serious consequences for youthful complexions.
“The level of blue light exposure from phototherapy is much higher than mobile phones and is therefore is not comparable,” ARPANSA said.
“Blue light from screens may, however, be a disruptor of the human sleep-wake cycles.”
“The 2015 research that was conducted reports the effect of blue light from phototherapy applications in the destruction of carotenoids. These carotenoids are dietary intake substances that protect the skin from oxidative stress and therefore reduce the production of free radicals.”
“It should be noted that the level of exposure from phototherapy is much higher than that from common screen based technologies such as mobile phones and tablets and therefore not comparable when considering these biological effects.
“It is concerning that the exposure from smartphones has been compared to the same time spent in the sun.”
