Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Blue Light Glasses?

January 17, 2023

Scrolling down and swiping through your social media or spending a lot of time using your computer can extensively expose you to blue light. Most people who use the devices regularly tend to experience problems such as eyestrain. The devices emit blue light that can lead to blurry vision, cataracts, macular degeneration, and dry eye.

What is Blue Light?

Several spectrums make up the visible white light of the sun. It is the primary source of blue light.

Blue light is a color in the light spectrum that human beings can see. It is a short wavelength that produces energy in high amounts. Blue light is everywhere. The only source used to be the sun. With the invention of digital devices, humans brought blue light into their homes. 

Why Blue Light Matters

Humans have been exposed to blue light for thousands of years with the shining sun. Along the way, their brains have always seen blue light as a cue to be energetic, alert, and active. Exposure to digital devices can confuse your body.

Blue light can elevate your mood. Opening your blinds and letting sunlight in your home in the morning can help you feel awake and energized. It helps promote alertness. It also regulates your circadian rhythm for healthy sleep.

How Blue Light Can Affect Your Eyes

The eye has structures that protect it from different kinds of light. Your lens and cornea protect your retina from damaging ultraviolet rays from the sun. However, these eye structures do not protect against blue light. You get exposed to blue light every day. The blue light emitted by the sun exceeds what you can get from any digital device.

Using digital devices for long periods causes digital eyestrain. As a result, your eyes start feeling tired, sore, irritated, and dry. You may also experience headaches and tired facial muscles due to squinting. Your eyes struggle to focus as blue light scatters easily. The eyes absorb it as poorly focused static, and the contrast reduction makes them strain.

Some research shows that blue light increases the risk of macular degeneration as it passes straight to your retina. The damage depends on your exposure time and wavelength. Blue light from digital devices affects your sleep cycle or circadian rhythm. It alerts your brain to wake up instead of wind down.

What Are Blue Light Glasses?

Blue light glasses are eyeglasses that minimize how much blue light from digital devices enters your eyes. Sometimes, you may think blue light glasses are computer glasses. Computer glasses are different from blue light glasses.

They are for up-close tasks like using a computer. You can get features added to it, like a coating protecting against blue light, anti-scratch, or anti-reflective coatings. Computer glasses can also correct vision if they are prescription eyeglasses.

Blue light glasses help protect against blue light. You can purchase the glasses without a prescription. However, you can also ask your eye doctor to add a blue light-blocking coating to your prescription.

Are Your Blue Light Glasses Helping?

Blue light glasses help as a preventative measure to reduce the amount of blue light entering your eyes. The eyeglass lenses have a surface coating that blocks blue light. The aim is to reduce digital eyestrain, improve sleep, and prevent eye diseases.

For more about blue light glasses, visit Eye Associates of New York at our office in Midtown East, New York. Call (212) 650-4888 to book an appointment today.