For Aaron Telford, the reality of digital eye strain was an eyeopener after his 12-year old daughter, Aimee, started complaining of sore eyes and headaches resulting from long hours on the computer. And, thus, Baxter Blue was born!
Aaron Telford established Baxter Blue with a clear vision of creating a fashionable range of non-prescription blue blocking eyewear for those who use computers and digital devices, protecting eyes from the dangers of blue-violet light and alleviating the symptoms of digital eye strain.
As experts in the sleep realm, we know all about the effect blue light can have on our sleep! The higher concentration of blue light in digital devices negatively affects the levels of our sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin.
We recently sat down with Aaron to hear more about Baxter Blue and get the scoop on his daily sleep rituals.
We’d love to hear more about Baxter Blue and how you came together with your partner to create this brand?
Every idea starts with a problem and ours was the headaches and sore eyes that came from working long hours on a computer. That’s what led to more research time on the computer (and more sore eyes!), as we learnt about digital eyestrain and the harmful effects of blue violet light.
So that became our mission. To make quality non-prescription glasses that not only work by filtering out the harmful blue violet light and alleviating digital eye strain, but are also fashionable. And so Baxter Blue was born.
We’ve been hearing a lot about blue light blocking, especially in our digital world. Can you tell us a little more about it and why it’s so important for our sleep?
Blue light is all around us, it exists naturally in the sun as well as in artificial light sources such as smartphones & computers, where it’s used to make the screens bright as well as being energy efficient. Our eyes are not very good at blocking this blue light and particularly more so with children’s eyes that are not developed enough. Without getting too technical, blue light waves are the shortest and highest wavelengths in the visible light spectrum with these shorter stronger wavelengths having more energy than the other wavelengths in the spectrum and recent studies have shown that over exposure to this blue light from digital screens may have detrimental effects on our health such as digital eye strain, sleeping disorders and increase the risk of macular degeneration.
Some recent research from experts in the field have shown that prolonged exposure to the harmful blue light can contribute to retinal damage and macular degeneration - an irreversible loss of vision.
Digital eye strain is also the result of too much exposure to the blue light from digital devices, with symptoms such as eye fatigue, headaches, dry, itchy, sore eyes, blurred vision and neck pain. The blue light’s high frequency short wavelengths stress out your eye by making it harder for our eyes to focus on the pixelated images & copy on the digital screens.
Blue light is important for regulating the body’s sleep and wake cycles (our circadian rhythm). During the day, blue light from the sun is good for us as it wakes us up and stimulates us. However, too much exposure to blue light at night from your phone, tablet or computer can make it harder to get to sleep. Your body needs melatonin to get to sleep however blue light from devices supresses this melatonin, keeping you awake and making it harder for you to go to sleep.
How do you manage to balance work and family life whilst starting a business with your partner?
Yes, this can be tricky & it did take a while to create a good balance, however this balance is still a work in progress as the business is constantly evolving.
There is so much to do & you are initially wearing so many hats & working whenever you have a spare minute, with every waking hour consumed by Baxter Blue, I’d be at the beach with the kids & my mind would be off with the fairies thinking about Baxter Blue!!
This however wasn’t healthy so now I have learned to switch off when with the kids & my wife, Jasmin.
Do you have a night time ritual to help you wind down after a busy day?
I wouldn’t call it a ritual, as there is really no such thing as a standard day, with things happening all the time, but my ideal night is chilling on the couch once all the kids are in bed & watching a Netflix show. I am a sucker for Frosty Fruit ice blocks, so there is always one of those consumed!!
I have also recently adopted a really good morning routine where I don’t read an email, check sales, social media or talk Baxter Blue for the first hour after waking up. It’s amazing how much more productive my day has been.
I’ll then read a book & will do a quick check of our social channels (with my Baxter’s on!).
What’s on your bedside table?
My Baxter’s (of course!), my latest book, my alarm clock & my phone.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’, brilliant!!!
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
If you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
What’s coming up for Baxter Blue?
We don’t want to let the cat out for the bag however we have a couple of really cool product collaborations coming up with some well-known people as well as some new styles & colours coming out for Summer.
Now we've covered off the science, the hardest decision will be which style you choose! Head over to Baxter Blue to shop your own pair of non-perscription, blue blocking glasses to sleep better. After light's out, consider opting for a Silk Sleep Mask to ensure a high quality sleep. Read more about the benefits of our Silk Sleep Mask here.
Image by the beautiful @rubyfiona_
