Remember those awful commercials back in the 90s for the Blue Blocker glasses? They looked ridiculous even if they did work to block blue light and many people under the age of 70 would never wear them in a million years.
Now that people are focused on the health of their eyes and sleep patterns they are thinking about blue light blocking glasses again. Our tablets, computers and smartphones all emit this light. Luckily, you can now get regular looking blue blocking glasses in any style you like including purple glasses or something more subdued.
So, now the question is do these glasses actually work? Sure, you can look more stylish and unique in them than you used to be able to, but you really want to know what the deal is.
In this article, I will go over some of the basics when it comes to blue blocking glasses.
Why is blue light bad?
There are two major reasons why blue light is not good for you. The first is that it affects your eyes.
Blue light is able to penetrate far deeper into our eyes than regular light can. In fact, it can bounce off of the retina at the very back of our eyes which is the thin membrane of the eyeball. It is here that the damage is done when light-sensitive cells in the retina are ruined by the light.
Over time this causes vision problems that are hard to repair.
The other problem is that it disrupts sleep patterns. It tricks the brain into not producing melatonin which is responsible for our internal clock. Basically, the release of melatonin tells the brain it’s time to shut down. Without this, we end up tossing and turning in bed. And a lack of sleep brings a whole host of problems like a lower immune system and depression.
Blue light blockers do work
When it comes to sleep, wearing blue light blocking glasses can help somewhat. They will block enough of the light that your brain is still able to send melatonin and you can get to sleep.
However, it doesn’t work 100% of the time and it depends on how long you have been looking at your device before bed. If you need to check a few emails or read up on something for a bit before bed, then wearing those glasses should help. If you sit for hours with a screen on in front of you then you will likely still have some issues falling asleep even when wearing your glasses.
As far as eye damage, it is the same concept. You can get some relief from wearing them, but you have to practice good sense in addition. Try to limit how much screen time you are putting in at a time and try to limit your sessions so you aren’t overdoing it. Make sure that you keep at least 25 inches from the screen to make sure that you aren’t getting blue light deep into your eyes even with the glasses.
