Do blue light glasses work? I think you will want to know answer for that question. The growing number of people wear special eyewear to block or filter the high-energy blue light coming from digital screens. But do blue light glasses really work? It depends on who you ask.
Because the glasses are a newer product, there’s not a lot of research to show either way. The FDA doesn’t regulate the eyewear because it’s not marketed as a medical device. But there is some researches which can answer that question – do blue light glasses work?
Blue Light is Everywhere
We were getting plenty of blue light before modern digital life began. Most of it comes from the sun. But televisions, smartphones, laptops, and tablets emit the brighter, shorter-wavelength light. Blue light is visible light with a wave length between 400 and 450 nanometers (nm). Blue light of the visible light spectrum is the shortest wavelength, but at the same time the blue light have the highest energy. The higher energy level means it has more chance of causing damage and also the eye is not very good at blocking blue light.
Blue light glasses are specially crafted to block blue light from the screens. The lenses help reduce potential damage to the retina from prolonged exposure to blue light, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours).
In another study of blue light, researchers at the University of Toronto compared the melatonin levels of people exposed to bright indoor light who were wearing blue light blocking glasses to people exposed to regular dim light without wearing glasses. The fact that the levels of the hormone were about the same in the two groups strengthens the hypothesis that blue light is a potent suppressor of melatonin.
In the manager study by Christopher M. Barnes, participants reported their own performance as 7.11% higher when wearing blue light filtering glasses compared to when wearing the sham glasses. In short, the blue light filtering glasses improved both sleep and work outcomes.
What can you do to protect your eyes?
Workers with computer more than 6 hours a day and night sifts workers can protect themselves if they wore eyewear that blocks blue light.
In conclusion it depends on how many hours you spend with digital devices. If it’s 6 hours or more, some sort of blue light reduction technique is recommended, whether it’s glasses or a special screen for a computer monitor. If you work a night shift consider wearing blue-blocking glasses also or installing an app that filters the blue/green wavelength at night. So do blue light glasses work? Most important if you feel headaches, dizziness or eye dry while working we suggest you to try blue light glasses – it’s a win-win, they look good and if they help you can feel so much better again!
Some reviews who have got help with blue light glasses:
”Usually my eyes poop out after 5 hours of computer work, but I can work longer with the glasses.”
”I’m a social media specialist and I love wear them every day because I need to work with my phone all day long. There is so many beautiful frames and styles.”
”My eyes was hurting so much because of I was working with computer every day. I tried blue light glasses and I don’t know if the glasses helped or mentally, but my eye soreness got less every time.”