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Blue Light Blockers: Fact or Fiction

As technology is changing so are the effects it’s having on our health. Many of us are now finding that we’re spending up to 80% of our working day on screens such as phones, computers, and tablets. But not many of us have taken into consideration the effect this is having on our health. We have countless patients coming into our studio complaining of symptoms such as headaches or tired eyes and this is due to their eyes being unprotected from blue light. But what is blue light and how is it affecting us? In this blog, we’re going to go through the ins and outs of blue light lenses, computer vision syndrome (CVS), and how you can preserve your eye health.

 

WHAT IS BLUE LIGHT

Blue light is one of the spectra of colours. Blue light can be found in both natural and artificial forms. Natural blue light comes directly from the sun whereas artificial blue light is emitted from your digital device or LED lights.

 

HOW DOES BLUE LIGHT AFFECT MY EYES UNPROTECTED?

The effects of blue light can differ per person but the most common problems we encounter include headaches, poor sleep, and tired of dry eyes. The melatonin levels triggered by blue light have been found to have consequences from the short term use we are currently used to. However, we are still unaware of how this will affect our eyes over a 40-50-year period.

 

Whilst we stare at our digital screen, we are often concentrating for long periods and forgetting to blink. Not blinking causes our cornea to become dry and irritated thus the dry feeling. The eye strain we experience is due to our eyes straining and contracting focusing on something we hold close to our faces. Blurry vision is also a vision problem that may affect those who suffer from eye strain.

 

The headaches we suffer are a part of computer fatigue syndrome and are due to the lighting/brightness of our digital device and the time we spend on them. The glare on our computer screen, poor lighting in our workplace, and bad posture all contribute to the headaches we receive after screen time. Having lower screen brightness is common due to the desire to save battery life. However, this also affects our eyes as it causes them to work harder when concentrating on what is in front of us.

As we said above, the blue light emitting from our screens is an artificial copy of the blue light produced by the sun. When we use our screen late into the night and before we go to bed, our eyes trick our biological clock into believing it’s still daylight. It then takes longer for our body to relax and thus taking longer for us to fall asleep affecting our sleep quality. Using the night shift mode on our phones is a small solution to the problem as it emits a yellow filter over our screens lessening the effects of blue light.

 

WHO SHOULD BE WEARING THEM AND WHEN?

We recommend anybody suffering from digital eye strain to be wearing blue light blockers. On average adults now spend 11 hours per day on digital devices whether it be for work or pleasure. Even though some of us also may not need prescription glasses to see, wearing a clear lens with a blue light filter can only improve your eye strain.

When you should be wearing your blue light lenses is different for every person. However, our rule of thumb is during any screen time use. Television use is not the highest concern when it comes to blue blight as we take regular breaks for concentrating on the screen (ad breaks) and we are much further away reducing our eye strain. We particularly recommend wearing your blue light lenses at night and close to your bedtime. 

 

WHAT ARE BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING LENSES? 

Blue light blocking lenses are lenses which have been specially designed to reduce the blue light emitted from digital devices from reaching our eyes. This is done by “blocking the transmission of a specific segment or range of wavelengths.” They often have an unnoticeable, slight yellow tinge to them which blocks the blue light from reaching your eyes.

 

DO THEY WORK?

Everybody who wears blue light filtering lenses will have their own experience. However, we’ve found that 85% of our clients who use blue light lenses can see results. Many of our clients have said that the lenses have helped to regulate their body clock and go to sleep easier. Our marketing administrator Hannah says that they’ve made a huge impact on her work life. “I used to get headaches every day from work but since I got my new lenses I barely find I have the same problems and suffer much less eye fatigue.” If you’re not sure whether blue blight blocking lenses could help you, book an appointment with our optometrist Paul Fotkou today to learn more about your eye health. 

 

Blue light lenses won’t impact the look or quality of your glasses, so with nothing to lose, what’s stopping you from getting yours today? Of course, there are several other possibilities as to why you may be having issues with your eyes. We offer a wide variety of services here at Adelaide City Optometrist and are confident that we can help you solve the mystery of your eye problems. We have a range of glasses deals starting at $199 inclusive of frames, lenses, blue-blocking, and free shipping.

 

FAQs

What is blue light?

Blue light is an artificial form of light emitted from your digital devices.

What are blue light blocking glasses?

Blue light blocking lenses are lenses which have been specially designed to reduce the blue light emitted from digital devices from reaching our eyes.

Do they work?

Everybody who wears blue light filtering lenses will have their own experiences and results. However, we’ve found that 85% of our clients who use blue light lenses see results within 2 days.

What if I don’t want to purchase glasses is there anything else I can do?

If not interested in purchasing glasses, we do have a short term solution to help prevent eye strain and computer fatigue syndrome. We call this the 202020 rule. Every 20 minutes you’re focusing on your computer, take a break and with your eyes focusing look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This rule helps to take the strain off your eyes and potentially decrease the likelihood of headaches. Although this can help, this exercise is not a substitution for blue light glasses. If experiencing volumes of 3+ hours on digital devices per day, we recommend the use of high-quality, blue-blocking glasses.