Blue light-blocking glasses help alleviate symptoms like headaches and dry eyes if you spend a lot of time on screens. Plus, they can prevent screen use from disrupting your natural circadian rhythms and messing with melatonin production.
However, it’s important to note that a small amount of blue light benefits the body. Read on for 7 Surprising Benefits of Wearing Blue Light Blocking Glasses Every Day.
Reduce Eye Strain
Blue light filters can reduce eye strain by filtering out harmful blue light from screens. This helps to prevent dry eyes, relieve headaches, and boost focus.
They can also help to reduce the amount of light that reaches the retina, which may help prevent age-related macular degeneration. However, it is essential to note that they do not protect against UV rays, which can still reach the retina and cause damage.
It is best to wear them in addition to other good habits, such as taking regular breaks from the screen and following the 20-20-20 rule (for every 20 minutes of looking at your computer, look into the distance for about 20 seconds). Adding a tinted lens treatment to your glasses can also reduce the glare on digital devices.
Boost Mental Health
We’ve heard for years that we need to be more mindful about how much time we spend on digital devices and limit the exposure to artificial blue light emitted from screens. However, it can be hard to do that with the constant demands of work and social media.
While these devices may be necessary for some of us, wearing a pair of the best blue light blocking glasses is an easy way to limit the effects of screen time on our mental health and well-being. Blue light reflectors, which come with yellow, orange, and amber lenses or in a transparent variety, filter out the sleep-disrupting frequencies emitted from digital devices. This can help improve sleep onset and quality, reduce eye strain, and serve as an effective intervention for mood disorders such as manic symptoms or bipolar disorder.
Improve Sleep
The blue light from screens disrupts natural circadian rhythms that guide sleep, suppressing the release of melatonin. Wearing a pair of blue light-blocking glasses can help minimize that effect, helping you get a better night’s sleep.
But don’t worry, you won’t look like a total nerd: You can find options that aren’t too expensive or unfashionable. Livho’s glasses, for example, are less than $20 for a two-pack and have positive reviews.
Ultimately, you’ll have to manage your screen time and sleep habits to meet your recommended needs for both. RISE is a free app that helps you build those habits, with notifications 1.5 hours before bedtime reminding you to put on your blue-light blockers. Try it out today!
Reduce Eye Redness
Many people who suffer from eye strain or other symptoms associated with screen use may turn to blue light blockers as a solution. The idea behind the glasses is that they filter out harmful blue light and can prevent it from reaching the retina, which might help slow or prevent age-related macular degeneration.
It’s unclear whether these types of glasses work. A 2017 review of studies found that while wearing blue-light filters in the evenings might sabotage your internal sleep clock by fooling it into thinking it’s still daylight, there’s no evidence they reduce eyestrain or other symptoms.
Instead, optometrists recommend taking frequent breaks from your screens and using the 20/20/20 rule (every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds) to avoid eye strain. They also suggest reducing the time spent on digital devices and using a matte screen filter to reduce glare, which can add to eye strain.
Reduce Eye Strain
Blue light emitted from electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, and LED lights can cause eye strain, dry eyes, and headaches. Wearing glasses that filter blue light may help to relieve these symptoms.
However, the latest research doesn’t find that blue light filters reduce eye strain. A 2021 study randomized 120 eyestrain symptomatic computer users to wear blue light-blocking or explicit (placebo) glasses and perform a 2-hour computer task. Neither group found that their eyes suffered from additional eye strain symptoms when wearing the blue-light glasses.
That’s likely because the discomfort and pain associated with using computers aren’t caused by blue light exposure but rather by the stress of staring at a screen up close for long periods. If you’re still interested in finding a pair of glasses that block blue light, plenty of frames are available with clear lenses and anti-glare coatings.
Reduce Eye Fatigue
The blue light emitted by smartphones, tablets, and computers can cause eye fatigue. It also can disrupt your sleep cycle. However, using a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses can help reduce this fatigue.
Participants wore blue-light glasses or a placebo in one study while performing a 2-hour computer task. The results showed that those who wore blue-light glasses experienced less eyestrain and itching than those who didn’t wear the glasses.
You can also reduce eye fatigue by taking regular breaks from your screen. Try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look away from your screen for about 20 seconds. This can help prevent dry eyes and improve your focus. You can also use a matte screen filter or anti-reflective coating on your screen to reduce glare.
Reduce Eye Inflammation
Blue light from electronic screens can damage the retina, leading to age-related macular degeneration and blindness. Blue light glasses are typically yellow or orange-tinted and filter the artificial blue light emitted from digital devices to protect your eyes. These glasses are available in prescription and non-prescription varieties and claim to prevent eye strain, reduce headaches, and improve vision.
While there’s little evidence that blue light glasses effectively reduce eye strain, they can help prevent digital fatigue by blocking harmful blue light from reaching your eyes. The best retailers offer prescription lenses with a blue light add-on coating for a relatively low price. However, taking breaks from screen time is essential to avoid excessive exposure and strain. A good rule of thumb is to follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
