Introducing Blue Light Health
Introducing Blue Light Health
Recently, Blue Light Health secured additional funding from angel investors including Create Health Ventures' Amit Aysola.
In 2022, during the pandemic, we kept hearing the same thing on our quarterly calls with our clinician network - their patients were increasingly isolated, glued to their screens/apps/technology, and their mental health was plummeting.
Amid my worsening Twitter habit, I thought back to the time my little brother and I got GameBoys in the 1990s. My mother would say we were “glued to the screen” and felt like we were “in another universe.”
It’s not a surprise that the smartphone and the addictive things it allows access to - social media, gaming, pornography gambling - are designed with the goal of luring human attention, locking it up, then leasing it out for a profit.
Today, the consequences are stark. Young people live their entire lives in the digital world - and it’s no wonder that rates of suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, depression, social anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, OCD, body dysmorphia, porn/sex addiction, cyberbullying-related trauma, are skyrocketing.
I joined forces with Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, the nation’s leading authority in technology-related mental health issues, and Dr. Avi Jayaraman, a multifaceted healthcare entrepreneur, physician, and investor.
Together, we founded Blue Light Health, a platform dedicated to addressing the unique mental health challenges faced by young people in the digital age.
Leveraging Dr. Kardaras' decades of expertise in digital addiction treatment and Dr. Jayaraman's venture-building acumen, we're pioneering the first clinic to offer a comprehensive suite of targeted interventions for youth struggling with mental health challenges in our hyper-connected world.
Leadership
Dr. Nicholas Kardaras
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder of Blue Light Health
Dr. Kardaras is one of the country’s foremost addiction experts. He is a professor at Stony Brook Medicine and has developed clinical treatment programs all over the country. He is the founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Maui Recovery in Hawaii, Omega Recovery in Austin and the Launch House in New York. He is also a frequent contributor to Psychology Today and FOX News, and has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC's 20/20, CNN, the CBS Evening News, PBS, NPR and FOX & Friends.
Dr. Avinash Jayaraman
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Blue Light Health
Dr. Jayaraman is a physician, healthcare entrepreneur, and venture investor with a strong background in health technology and innovation. A graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, he has helped lead groundbreaking initiatives in the opioid treatment space and played a key role in starting and scaling Sonara Health to over $1M+ in annual recurring revenue. He has secured funding from VCs, health plans, strategic partners, and high-profile angel investors including Mark Cuban. In addition, Dr. Jayaraman was a co-inventor of Sonara's life-saving medical technology. Dr. Jayaraman has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in oncologic breast reconstruction research and has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse for his work in advancing in addiction treatment. He has also been involved in venture capita investing, performing due diligence on cutting-edge life sciences companies at Portal Innovations. He is currently pursuing his MBA at The Wharton School to further his impact in the healthcare space.
Our approach
To learn more about Blue Light Health, contact Dr. Jayaraman at avi@bluelight.health
Sources
Gaming does not appear harmful to mental health, unless the gamer can't stop - Oxford study. University of Oxford.
The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2023 Aug; 15(8): e42990.Study indicates link between tech use, anxiety, depression in older adults. Medical Express.
Anxiety, Depression, and Snapchat – it’s Real. Western Missouri Medical Center.
TikTok's impact on mental health. Sanctuary Personnel
Addictive Use of Smartphones and Mental Disorders in University Students. Iran J Psychiatry. 2020 Apr; 15(2): 96–104.
Technology Addiction Survey: An Emerging Concern for Raising Awareness and Promotion of Healthy Use of Technology. Indian J Psychol Med. 2017 Jul-Aug; 39(4): 495–499.
Technology Addiction Statistics 2024.Center for Internet and Technology Addiction
Mobile Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center
Study finds nearly 57% of Americans admit to being addicted to their phones. CBS News Pittsburgh
Smartphone Addiction and Associated Health Outcomes in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov; 18(22): 12257.
The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?. Nature
How to calm The Anxious Generation. Harvard Public Health