Negative effects of blue light on your night’s rest

22

October

2017

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Getting enough sleep is very important. This fact is being underestimated a lot. Getting enough rest at night is critical for a good health. Getting not enough rest at night is being linked to various heart diseases, diabetes type 2, depression and it is also a strong risk-factor for obesity (Peri, 2014). The problem is not only that people nowadays do sleep a lot less compared to the past, also the quality of our night’s rest has declined during the years (Harvard Health Letter, 2012).
One of the biggest factors regarding sleep problems is the use of artificial lighting and mainly the use of electronics before bedtime. These devices radiate blue light, which tricks our brain into acting as if it is daytime (Harvard Health Letter, 2012).
Why is blue light essential during the daytime?
Our bodies have an internal clock, located in our brains, which orchestrates our sleeping rhythm. This so called circadian rhythm is not 100% accurate. Therefore, the body uses external signals to alter to the environment. The most critical factors for our internal clock to adjust to are daylight and darkness. During the evolution of humans, it was important to be able to find food during the day and to rest and sleep at night (Schmerler, 2015).
However, not all light is the same. The light of the blue wavelength, is mainly the one simulating the eye sending signals to the brain. It is important to know that the light of the sun is a mix of different wavelengths and thus also contains a lot of blue light. The blue light is important during the day, it helps us to stay alert, while improving our mood and performance (Schmerler, 2015).
Crucial during the day, a disaster at night
While blue light is a crucial factor to keep us going during the day, it is a complete disaster if we get exposed to this in the night. When the sky becomes dark at night, a part of the brain (pineal gland) releases the hormone melatonin. This signals the body and brain that they are tired and the time for sleep has come. Blue light effectively slows down the production of melatonin. The effect of using devices (sending out blue light) late at night, is that not only the number of hours of sleep get reduced, but also the quality of our sleep. Which as mentioned in the introduction can lead to various health problems (Schmerler, 2015). So, keep this in mind when working on that deadline late at night.
References
Harvard Health Letter (2012). Blue light has a dark side. [online] health.harvard.edu. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side [Accessed 21 Oct. 2017]
Peri, C. (2014). 10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss. [online] webmd.com. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/10-results-sleep-loss#1 [Accessed 21 Oct. 2017]
Schmerler, J. (2015). Q&A: Why is Blue Light before Bedtime Bad for Sleep? [online] schientificamerican.com. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-light-before-bedtime-bad-for-sleep/ [Accessed 21 Oct. 2017]

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Why Blockchain Technology is the future.

18

October

2017

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Terms like ‘Blockchain’, ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Ethereum’ are mentioned more and more. It seems that the Blockchain Technology, which is the technology both Bitcoin and Ethereum are based on, is here to stay and change the way we record data and make transactions (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
What is Blockchain Technology?
In the current system a third party is always involved when making a transaction. For example, when you pay to buy your groceries, your money is transferred to a bank, which will transfer the money to the supermarket. Blockchain Technology allows to cut out the middle man and create transactions which cannot be tempered with, by creating a distributed which checks every transaction within this network using ‘blocks’ (Crowe, 2016). You can see it as one big ledger recording all the data in the network, available for everyone and stored over the entire network (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017). An animated description can be found in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r43LhSUUGTQ&t=1s.
The potential of Blockchain Technology
As mentioned above currently we require trusted administrators to record and verify transactions and databases. With the Blockchain Technology these ledgers would be distributed throughout a network, which would make banking, auditing, even aspects of government obsolete (Ito et al, 2017). The trusted third party would be replaced would be replaced by encrypted and secure databases, controlled by the masses.
The potential of blockchain is huge, not only currencies or value could be stored digitally. Everything could be stored using a blockchain, without the use of a real-world equivalent. Think about contracts, wills, deeds, etc. (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
Some of the main advantages would be:
• It would offer truth and trust in any system, as it would give the opportunity to prove who owns what in any given situation. Anything that currently exists to verify contracts, payments or ownership can be shifted towards the blockchain.
• It would increase decentralization. Where currently a couple of big companies run entire systems, blockchain would create decentralized networks doing this work.
• It would increase traceability, and also decrease associated costs. Because all the information is constantly available on every piece of technology connected to the network, it would make it a lot easier to access this information for anyone.
• Furthermore, because of the points mentioned above, it would decrease the opportunity for crime. With transactions independently stored on the blockchain, these could be verified and traced independently. The result of this is that fighting crime, fraud and counterfeiting would be a lot easier and less costly (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
The start of the Internet was disruptive and game-changing. Blockchain Technology has the same potential. It could create a shift of the power of the 1% to the ‘everyday’ people (Ito et al, 2017).

Crowe, P. (2016). “There is a ‘game changer’ technology on Wall Street and people keep confusing it with bitcoin” [online] Businessinsider.com. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blockchain-2016-3?international=true&r=US&IR=T/#blockchains-are-ledgers-like-excel-spreadsheets-but-they-accept-inputs-from-lots-of-different-parties-the-ledger-can-only-be-changed-when-there-is-a-consensus-among-the-group-that-makes-them-more-secure-and-it-means-theres-no-need-for-a-central-authority-to-approve-transactions-1 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Gowers, R., Aminoff, J. (2017). The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain. [online] theconversation.com. Available at: http://theconversation.com/the-big-business-revolution-why-the-future-is-blockchain-78409 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Ito, J. et. al. (2017). The Blockchain will do to the Financial System what the Internet did to Media. [online] hbr.org. Available at: https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-blockchain-will-do-to-banks-and-law-firms-what-the-internet-did-to-media [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]

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Why Blockchain Technology is the future.

17

October

2017

No ratings yet.

Terms like ‘Blockchain’, ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Ethereum’ are mentioned more and more. It seems that the Blockchain Technology, which is the technology both Bitcoin and Ethereum are based on, is here to stay and change the way we record data and make transactions (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
What is Blockchain Technology?
In the current system a third party is always involved when making a transaction. For example, when you pay to buy your groceries, your money is transferred to a bank, which will transfer the money to the supermarket. Blockchain Technology allows to cut out the middle man and create transactions which cannot be tempered with, by creating a distributed which checks every transaction within this network using ‘blocks’ (Crowe, 2016). You can see it as one big ledger recording all the data in the network, available for everyone and stored over the entire network (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017). An animated description can be found in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r43LhSUUGTQ&t=1s.
The potential of Blockchain Technology
As mentioned above currently we require trusted administrators to record and verify transactions and databases. With the Blockchain Technology these ledgers would be distributed throughout a network, which would make banking, auditing, even aspects of government obsolete (Ito et al, 2017). The trusted third party would be replaced would be replaced by encrypted and secure databases, controlled by the masses.
The potential of blockchain is huge, not only currencies or value could be stored digitally. Everything could be stored using a blockchain, without the use of a real-world equivalent. Think about contracts, wills, deeds, etc. (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
Some of the main advantages would be:
• It would offer truth and trust in any system, as it would give the opportunity to prove who owns what in any given situation. Anything that currently exists to verify contracts, payments or ownership can be shifted towards the blockchain.
• It would increase decentralization. Where currently a couple of big companies run entire systems, blockchain would create decentralized networks doing this work.
• It would increase traceability, and also decrease associated costs. Because all the information is constantly available on every piece of technology connected to the network, it would make it a lot easier to access this information for anyone.
• Furthermore, because of the points mentioned above, it would decrease the opportunity for crime. With transactions independently stored on the blockchain, these could be verified and traced independently. The result of this is that fighting crime, fraud and counterfeiting would be a lot easier and less costly (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
The start of the Internet was disruptive and game-changing. Blockchain Technology has the same potential. It could create a shift of the power of the 1% to the ‘everyday’ people (Ito et al, 2017).

Crowe, P. (2016). “There is a ‘game changer’ technology on Wall Street and people keep confusing it with bitcoin” [online] Businessinsider.com. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blockchain-2016-3?international=true&r=US&IR=T/#blockchains-are-ledgers-like-excel-spreadsheets-but-they-accept-inputs-from-lots-of-different-parties-the-ledger-can-only-be-changed-when-there-is-a-consensus-among-the-group-that-makes-them-more-secure-and-it-means-theres-no-need-for-a-central-authority-to-approve-transactions-1 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Gowers, R., Aminoff, J. (2017). The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain. [online] theconversation.com. Available at: http://theconversation.com/the-big-business-revolution-why-the-future-is-blockchain-78409 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Ito, J. et. al. (2017). The Blockchain will do to the Financial System what the Internet did to Media. [online] hbr.org. Available at: https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-blockchain-will-do-to-banks-and-law-firms-what-the-internet-did-to-media [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]

Please rate this

Why Blockchain Technology is the future.

17

October

2017

No ratings yet.

Terms like ‘Blockchain’, ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Ethereum’ are mentioned more and more. It seems that the Blockchain Technology, which is the technology both Bitcoin and Ethereum are based on, is here to stay and change the way we record data and make transactions (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
What is Blockchain Technology?
In the current system a third party is always involved when making a transaction. For example, when you pay to buy your groceries, your money is transferred to a bank, which will transfer the money to the supermarket. Blockchain Technology allows to cut out the middle man and create transactions which cannot be tempered with, by creating a distributed which checks every transaction within this network using ‘blocks’ (Crowe, 2016). You can see it as one big ledger recording all the data in the network, available for everyone and stored over the entire network (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017). An animated description can be found in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r43LhSUUGTQ&t=1s.
The potential of Blockchain Technology
As mentioned above currently we require trusted administrators to record and verify transactions and databases. With the Blockchain Technology these ledgers would be distributed throughout a network, which would make banking, auditing, even aspects of government obsolete (Ito et al, 2017). The trusted third party would be replaced would be replaced by encrypted and secure databases, controlled by the masses.
The potential of blockchain is huge, not only currencies or value could be stored digitally. Everything could be stored using a blockchain, without the use of a real-world equivalent. Think about contracts, wills, deeds, etc. (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
Some of the main advantages would be:
• It would offer truth and trust in any system, as it would give the opportunity to prove who owns what in any given situation. Anything that currently exists to verify contracts, payments or ownership can be shifted towards the blockchain.
• It would increase decentralization. Where currently a couple of big companies run entire systems, blockchain would create decentralized networks doing this work.
• It would increase traceability, and also decrease associated costs. Because all the information is constantly available on every piece of technology connected to the network, it would make it a lot easier to access this information for anyone.
• Furthermore, because of the points mentioned above, it would decrease the opportunity for crime. With transactions independently stored on the blockchain, these could be verified and traced independently. The result of this is that fighting crime, fraud and counterfeiting would be a lot easier and less costly (Gowers, Aminoff, 2017).
The start of the Internet was disruptive and game-changing. Blockchain Technology has the same potential. It could create a shift of the power of the 1% to the ‘everyday’ people (Ito et al, 2017).

Crowe, P. (2016). “There is a ‘game changer’ technology on Wall Street and people keep confusing it with bitcoin” [online] Businessinsider.com. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blockchain-2016-3?international=true&r=US&IR=T/#blockchains-are-ledgers-like-excel-spreadsheets-but-they-accept-inputs-from-lots-of-different-parties-the-ledger-can-only-be-changed-when-there-is-a-consensus-among-the-group-that-makes-them-more-secure-and-it-means-theres-no-need-for-a-central-authority-to-approve-transactions-1 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Gowers, R., Aminoff, J. (2017). The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain. [online] theconversation.com. Available at: http://theconversation.com/the-big-business-revolution-why-the-future-is-blockchain-78409 [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]
Ito, J. et. al. (2017). The Blockchain will do to the Financial System what the Internet did to Media. [online] hbr.org. Available at: https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-blockchain-will-do-to-banks-and-law-firms-what-the-internet-did-to-media [Accessed 17 Oct. 2017]

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