Blue Light Glasses, Just a Trend?
If you haven’t noticed, blue light glasses have been (and continue to be) all the rage. Everyone, everywhere seems to be wearing them to work in front of their laptop. But - are they just a trend, or do they really have a benefit?
Let’s start by creating a little context by defining blue light, and the impacts it has on your daily life.
Blue light is a high energy light, and one to which our eyes are extremely sensitive. It can not only damage your retina, which can lead to blindness, but also completely sabotage your productivity, sleep patterns, and overall well being. In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic there has been a transition of many jobs from an office setting to “working remotely.” This move has put many more of us in front of screens more than we originally would be. With this transition, protection against blue light is more important than ever. Can the solution really be a pair of non prescription glasses?
While blue light glasses are not the only solution to our added exposure to blue light, they are highly effective and inexpensive to purchase - which makes them an easy no brainer!
So what do blue light glasses do for you and your eyes?
Reduce potential eye damage! Prolonged exposure to high energy lights, like the ones from computer screens can cause computer vision syndrome and blurry vision. Exposure to these light sources are also the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. - Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Alleviate eye discomfort and headaches! Constant eye strain often causes headaches. Blocking out the blue light will decrease the strain on your eyes and therefore lower the headache of a headache.
Both of these negative symptoms can be prevented by using blue light glasses designed to block the light! Not only do blue light blocking glasses take away some negative experiences we have from being on screens for long periods - but they also provide you with some positive results as well.
Improved mental clarity and focus during the day! Because your eyes are less impacted and strained while wearing blue light blocking glasses, you will experience an overall improvement in your day to day life and wellbeing by limiting your blue light exposure. Improve sleep habits! It’s best to avoid blue light before bedtime. A good guideline is giving yourself two hours between screen time and sleep. The high energy light can keep you up at night and disrupt your circadian rhythm (your natural sleep cycle) because of the stimulation. You can wear blue light glasses in addition to reducing the backlight (or use entirely) of screens before bed if you REALLY want to bank some high quality zzz’s!
Enhance productivity! Lowering blue light exposure will increase your ability to fall asleep and sleep more soundly. The combination of improved sleep, and less eye strain will result in major work life wins.
So where can you find yourself a pair?
You can also find some on Amazon.
Pro Tip: make sure they come with a blue light testing kit
So what style will you pick?