Do blue light glasses work?

Ask the experts and you may get a few different opinions. Blue light glasses have been an item of debate in the eye care community for some time.

Image from tenor.com.

You may have heard about blue light filters in glasses (sometimes called blue blockers) within the last few years as a large population of people were sent to work from home during the initial Corona virus scare in 2020.

But what is blue light and why is it so harmful?

Technically, blue light is not bad for you. We encounter blue light throughout the majority of our days – we even encounter it naturally in sunlight!

Exposure to blue light “boosts alertness, improves memory and mood and helps cognitive function” according to BlueTechLenses.com, which is why doing things like stepping outside helps clear your head or “taking a walk … can be a huge mood booster.”

So how can blue light be harmful if it does so much good? Just like carrots are generally considered healthy and good for you but, if you eat too many, they can turn your skin orange!

Too much of any good thing can be a bad thing.

The world we live in is digital – we encounter blue light in our cell phones, televisions, computer screens, tablets and even in the displays of smart appliances and car displays!

Blue light is a portion of the visible spectrum of light. Some research suggests that overexposure to high-energy visible light may cause macular degeneration over time. It can also disrupt sleep cycles, cause eye strain and may cause headaches and migraines in some individuals.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that the health effects we feel from working around blue light is most probably digital eye strain. It’s “not necessary to spend money on special eye wear” when working with blue light, and instead, they recommend you practice to 20-20-20 rule.

“Every 20 minutes look away from your screen and look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds,” they say. “This gives your eyes a chance to reset and replenish themselves.”

But ask users of blue light filters how they feel and you may hear a different story.

A quick Google search will yield hundreds of stories of users attesting to the superiority of blue light glasses over non-blue filter glasses.

Many claim that blue light filters have eliminated headaches, eye strain, dryness and a host of other effects – even without practicing the 20-20-20 rule.

So will blue light blockers hurt your eyes? The answer is no. Will they help your eyes? Maybe.

It’s truly down to the experience of every user, and what you think you may benefit from.

And, fortunately, some insurances like VSP Vision Care even cover the cost of blue light filters! So, if you’re wondering if a blue light filter will work for you, the perfect person to ask is your doctor.

If you’ve been visiting your doctor for a period of time, they should have a history of your health and will be able to do a blue light technology dissection to guide you in the right direction.