Limit your time on your smartphone and other devices that emit blue light if you want to avoid wrinkles. New research finds that the light may have detrimental effects on skin and fat cells, and trigger pre-mature aging.

On a cellular level, aging occurs when cells stop repairing and producing new, healthy cells. Cells that do not function properly self-destruct, which not only has a negative impact on appearance, but also for the whole body. It is the reason older individuals take longer to heal, and bones and organs begin to deteriorate.

According to WebMD, the study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging found that blue light can harm skin appearance and health similar to the way UV rays from the sun cause damage ─ by affecting the ability of cells to repair and regenerate themselves.

“Our study suggests that avoidance of excessive blue light exposure may be a good anti-aging strategy,” said Oregon State University scientist Jadwiga Giebultowicz. He explained that that his study shows, for the first time, that blue lights alters the state of metabolites in the body. Metabolites are produced during metabolism ─ when the body converts food into energy. And, according to Giebultowicz, metabolites indicate how well a cell is functioning. Specifically, the results showed that levels of the metabolite glutamate decreased in fruit flies exposed to excessive blue light.

Glutamate is one of the molecules responsible for communication between neurons, and Giebultowicz called the effect of blue light on these molecules a “troubling discovery.” Fruit flies make an appropriate analog for humans because we share the same signaling chemicals, the study authors said.

We are exposed to blue light through LED lighting from phones, computers, TVs and ambient lighting during much of the day. The fruit flies were exposed to “a fairly strong blue light,” more intense that what humans normally endure. Therefore, Giebultowicz said, “future research involving human cells is needed.”

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