6 Advantages Of Blue Light Blocking Glasses

In today’s high-tech world, the average person spends 5 to 6 hours per day exposed to the same smart device. As a consequence, blue light exposure drastically damages our eyesight and can reduce concentration, cause insomnia, fatigue, and even a certain degree of anxiety. As more people are becoming affected,  there has been a greater need for protection in the last several years. Luckily, blue light blocking glasses are now available to reduce the risk of blue light emissions from our computer screens and the myriad of other digital devices most of us use on a daily basis. But before we look at the advantages of blue light blocking glasses, let’s get a better understanding of blue light.

But just to be clear, blue light blockers can be fitted to almost any lens, but if you don’t normally wear glasses it is worth considering purchasing glasses from a specialist company that have been designed specifically for computer and gaming use and made to include the appropriate blue light blockers.

Blue light blocking glasses are normally either clear or yellow. Clear glasses are specifically designed to permit the good light responsible for alertness, mood, brain activity, and optimal health, whilst filtering the harmful artificial blue light that leads to digital eye strain, headaches, and macular degeneration. You should ensure these glasses filter the blue light by at least 50%. Yellow glasses give maximum 100% protection and are often referred to as light sensitivity glasses, gaming glasses, or mood boosting glasses. These glasses still allow the beneficial blue light through but are ideal for people who are light-sensitive, are on screens all day, regularly suffer from migraines and eye strain or are prone to anxiety, depression, or low mood.

Understanding blue light

The visible spectrum of light is a range of colours from blue-violet at the lower end to red at the higher end. The visible spectrum has the shortest wavelengths at the lowest end – the blue end – and shorter wavelengths emit more energy. That is why blue light is also known as High Energy Visible (HEV) light which is the light filtered by blue light blocking glasses.

Blue light is actually needed for good health and the largest source of blue light is sunshine. That is why it is so important to get outside even on winter days. Blue light provides the following benefits:

• it boosts alertness, helps memory and cognitive function, and elevates mood.
• it regulates the circadian rhythm, the body’s natural wake, and sleep cycle. Exposure to blue light during the day can help maintain a healthy circadian rhythm whereas exposure to blue light late at night through our digital devices can disturb the wake and sleep cycle, leading to problems sleeping and daytime tiredness.

Ironically, studies show that in children, insufficient exposure could affect the growth and development of the eyes and vision. Early studies show a deficiency in blue light exposure could contribute to the recent increase in myopia/nearsightedness.

However, because of the close proximity of our digital screens to our eyes and the length of time spent looking at them, there is a great deal of concern about the damage caused by screen exposure, particularly in children as studies show children’s eyes absorb more blue light than adults from digital device screens.

Digital eye strain is very common, leading to fatigue, dry eyes, irritated eyes, and even problems focusing.

Retina damage caused by long-term use of digital screens without any protection can damage retinal cells and cause problems such as age-related macular degeneration.

Once you understand how blue light works and the intense impact of blue light emitted from digital screens, it is easier to understand the advantages of blue light blocking glasses.

Healthy Eyes

The most obvious advantage of wearing blue light blocking glasses is long-term eyesight protection. Your eyes are more fragile than you might think, and require long-term care. But as already detailed, blockers also protect from many potential short-term problems such as headaches and fatigue.

Sleep like a baby

As already mentioned, blue light from smart screens triggers affects our circadian rhythm. The longer we expose ourselves, especially during evening hours, to screens and the damaging blue light, the higher the chance we will have trouble sleeping. Of course, as some of us have demanding jobs which eventually demand spending time behind the computer, considering this protection can be a life-changer.

Taking care of one’s sleeping routine can drastically affect one’s mental health and attitude. Externally induced sleep deprivation, such as because of noise or light, has been associated with moderate anxiety and insomnia. And these are some side effects, while the long-term damage might be irreversible.

Keep your concentration high

Another thing closely related to the already mentioned side effects of sleep deprivation and screen blue light exposure is the lack of concentration and repetitive headaches which occur over a longer period.

Blue light exposure might not always cause permanent damage to the eye as it always varies from person to person, yet what it can cause are repetitive headaches and lack of concentration. Though the lack of concentration has been associated with the lack of qualitative sleep, even with a good sleeping schedule screen time has proven to reduce concentration levels and even trigger sudden mood swings.

Stops the eye from becoming the Sahara

Though we already said how wearing protective blue light glasses can help reduce the chance of getting an eye-related disease, another advantage worth mentioning is the reduced risks of getting dry eyes.

Dry eyes aren’t exactly a disease, that is why they have been separately listed, yet they are annoying phenomena and can cause long-term damage. If this has already occurred, try wetting them with over-the-counter products, and from now on, wear the appropriate protection.

Specialist blue light accessories 

The industry is keeping up with customer demand, so those of you who want to mix and match blue light blocking glasses now have a wide range of models, styles, and colors to choose from, all of which provide the same level of protection.

Also, modern innovation includes other accessories with protective properties. If you are not convinced and still have second thoughts on the glasses, you might be glad to hear there are protective covers for phones as well. This functions on a similar principle such as the glasses except for not needing a pair. Also, you have even lightbulbs now coated with a layer of some protection like the glasses. These little inventions can reduce the risks and are great for those who can not see themselves wearing an old-school pair of eyeglasses.

Our eyes are arguably the most important of our senses, and yet their health is often neglected and taken for granted. Healthy eyes should be of utmost importance. This little investment now can save you a lot of money you would otherwise have to spend on some kind of therapy or operation later.