If you spend most of your day behind a screen, you could experience all kinds of bothersome effects, ranging from eyestrain to headaches and sleep disturbances. Whether it's your phone, laptop or desktop computer, screens emit blue light, which can negatively impact your vision and health.
Practicing the 20-20-20 rule, where you look away from your screen at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes, can help reduce some of the strain. Other solutions, like blue light glasses, can also help reduce your exposure and protect your eyes.
What Is Blue Light?
This high-energy visible (HEV) light is emitted by the sun and is part of the visible light spectrum. It offers benefits ranging from increasing mood to regulating the circadian rhythm. While some blue light is necessary and good, excessive exposure, especially from digital devices, can have a negative impact on our eyes and overall health.
If you spend a lot of time behind screens or use your digital devices late into the evening, you want to minimize the impact this high-energy, short-wavelength light can have on your health.
Why Is Blue Light Harmful?
Natural blue light exposure during daylight hours offers several positive benefits, such as increased attention and mood. However, blue wavelengths from electronic screens, especially later in the day when the body should naturally be winding down, can have negative short-term and long-term effects:
Digital eyestrain: Digital eyestrain, which is also called computer vision syndrome, is a common symptom that many experience. Along with causing dry eyes and discomfort, digital eyestrain can cause a range of symptoms that can make completing tasks difficult or even impossible. Common symptoms include burning, itchiness, sensitivity to light, headaches and difficulty focusing.
Blinking less: If you're on your digital device for a while, you may notice that you tend to blink less. The less you blink, the more likely you'll experience dry eyes and discomfort. Over time, this reduced blinking can decrease the natural spread of tears across the eye's surface, which is essential for keeping your eyes moist and comfortable. Prolonged screen use can cause dryness, make your eyes more sensitive to light and increase the likelihood of experiencing irritation or a gritty sensation.
Eye diseases and conditions: Excessive blue light exposure from screens may accelerate changes in your eyes linked to long-term health risks. While research is ongoing, some studies suggest prolonged exposure could increase the risk of developing conditions like cataracts or age-related macular degeneration over the years. Blue light exposure may also cause oxidative stress in the retina, potentially contributing to cumulative damage.
Development of heart disease and cancer: There is ongoing research into how blue light exposure, especially at night, may indirectly affect overall health, including the risk of certain diseases. Disruption of your circadian rhythm through late-night scrolling can interfere with melatonin production, which impacts sleep and cell growth and repair. Some studies have found a potential link between long-term circadian disruption and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and some cancers, though more research is necessary to understand the full connection.
Disrupting sleep: Consistent exposure to blue light in the evening hours can significantly interfere with your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. Blue light suppresses the release of melatonin, which is the hormone that helps you feel sleepy. Suppressing melatonin makes it harder to fall asleep and can potentially reduce your sleep quality. Over time, poor sleep can lead to increased fatigue, difficulty concentrating and a weakened immune system, affecting your daily well-being and long-term health.
The longer and more frequently you use your digital devices, the more likely you are to experience long-term effects. Blue light can contribute to issues ranging from cataracts to eye cancer, making it crucial to limit exposure. Managing screen time for both children and adults will have a positive impact on both your eyes and overall health.
What Are Blue Light Glasses?
Unlike standard eyeglasses, blue light glasses, also known as blue screen glasses or blue light blocker glasses, are specially designed to filter out the blue light that screens give off. You can wear them any time you look at a smartphone, TV, computer or tablet. Even though they are called "blue light" glasses, they look essentially identical compared to regular lenses. Your blue light lenses may have a slightly yellow or blueish hue, but overall, blue light glasses are almost indistinguishable from standard eyeglasses.
Whether you're using your digital devices for a few hours or all day long, blue light glasses will help filter harmful light and make it safer and more comfortable for you to look at your screens. Plus, you can add blue light filtering to any pair of nonprescription or prescription glasses, making it easier than ever to add some safety to your daily screen time routine.
How to Choose the Right Pair
If you've decided that blue light glasses are the right choice for you, the next step is to find the perfect pair. To ensure your new glasses fit your vision needs and lifestyle, consider these key factors:
Decide prescription or not: Decide whether you need blue light protection built into prescription lenses or if a nonprescription pair will do the trick. If you already wear glasses, ask for blue light filtering as an add-on to your prescription lenses. For those who don't need vision correction, nonprescription blue light glasses are available in various frame styles to fit your personal taste and comfort needs.
Consider the visible tint: Blue light lenses come in options with a noticeable yellow or blueish tint and those that appear nearly clear. Lenses with a visible tint filter out more blue light and are especially helpful for evening use when you're trying to reduce disruption to your sleep cycle. For daytime wear or in professional settings, clearer blue light lenses are less noticeable and provide comfortable protection for long hours at a desk or device.
Find the right fit: The best blue light glasses are ones you'll enjoy wearing throughout your day. Look for frames that fit securely but are comfortable, with lightweight materials and flexible hinges for extended screen sessions. Everyone has a unique face shape and features, so consider asking a professional to help you find the right frame size.
Benefits of Blue Light Glasses
While the best way to avoid the negative effects of blue light is to reduce electronic device use — especially at night — blue light glasses offer a promising solution for people who must use digital devices daily. For example, if you work behind a computer screen, wearing blue light glasses can significantly reduce eyestrain. Here's a closer look at the benefits of blue light glasses:
Prevent Eyestrain
Excessive screen time can cause eyestrain, especially if you have preexisting eye conditions. If you work in an office, or just enjoy frequent trips to the movie theater or watching TV to wind down, eyestrain can make it difficult to complete tasks and enjoy the things you like.
Wearing blue light glasses can reduce the digital eyestrain and blurred vision that result from staring at screens for long periods of time. These glasses filter out the blue light from your digital devices and help you stay focused and comfortable while studying, working or browsing the internet. You can reduce eye discomfort and pain with a pair of protective blue light glasses.
Prevent Headaches
Digital eyestrain can sometimes cause headaches, which can further impede productivity or limit your enjoyment of your favorite activities. When you target blue light exposure with blue light glasses, you might notice fewer headaches and feel better throughout the day.
Enhance Sleep Quality
Your body naturally releases melatonin when it's dark outside. However, if you use your screens late into the night, the light they emit can trick your body into believing it's daytime, so it will release less melatonin.
Disturbing your circadian rhythm can make it much harder to fall asleep at night, stay asleep once you finally fall asleep or wake up feeling rested in the morning. Wearing blue light glasses, especially in the evening, can support better sleep patterns by inducing dim-light melatonin onset, helping you achieve quality sleep.
Improve Mental Health
Blue light can also impact mental health. A disrupted sleep cycle can increase one's susceptibility to experiencing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Not getting enough restful sleep disrupts hormone production and regulation and can contribute to mood disorders. Because of the correlation between disrupted circadian rhythm, sleep and mental health, health care professionals recommend limiting screen time or taking the necessary steps to filter blue light exposure.
So, Do Blue Light Glasses Work, and Should You Get a Pair?
Blue light protection lenses can be worth the investment. For helping regulate your natural sleep cycle after evening screen use, evidence suggests that they can be a helpful tool. If you spend a lot of time looking at screens each day, it's worth finding a comfortable pair to combat the negative effects of blue light that can otherwise compound over time.
Improve Your Eye Health With Blue Light Glasses From Eyemart Express
Whether you're looking for nonprescription or prescription lenses, blue light glasses will help you maintain your eye health. At Eyemart Express, we are proud to help you find the right type and fit of nonprescription and prescription glasses. Our quality blue light glasses, like the UltraXHD lenses, allow you to see the moment while looking after your health and safety. The UltraXHD lenses block 100% of ultraviolet light up to 400 nanometers and are impact- and scratch-resistant.
Ready to get started? Browse lenses online or visit a store to get glasses in a blink!
