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Most people are exposed to blue light rays by looking at their computer screen at work and staring at their mobile device’s screen during break time. Blue light is inevitable as it’s already part of our daily lives. Most people can no longer live without it but too much exposure can cause serious health problems. That’s why, blue light blocking glasses were invented – to protect any eye discomfort and prevent potential health issues caused by excessive blue light exposure. (See also: Choosing New Glasses: What’s Your Face Shape?)
What is Blue Light?
Blue light is a color in a visible light spectrum known to have a short wavelength between 400 and 450 nm, meaning it produces a higher amount of energy. Too much exposure to blue light can cause eyestrain, dizziness, fatigue and sleep disorder that can cause heart disease. The source of this light is everywhere. Before the only source of blue light is the sun but due to the technology development, blue light is now brought by way of digital screens. Television, computer, laptops, tablets and mobile devices including other electronic devices, LED and fluorescent lighting are increasingly becoming the source of blue light exposure.
Mitigating the Blue Light Harmful Effects
Exposure to blue light creates a glaring effect on the human eye that can cause headaches, dry eyes, and blurred vision. Continuous exposure can damage retinal cells which makes us susceptible to age-related macular degeneration. However, we can protect ourselves from any eye damage caused by blue light. Below are the six (6) practical ways:
- Limit screen time especially when not working. Practice limiting your screen time within 6-10 hours per day. As much as possible, don’t spend too much time staring at your mobile device’s screen during non-working hours and during night time.
- Download blue light filer application. If it’s unavoidable to use a computer or mobile device at night, you can use an application downloadable in the app store or play store that put a filter on your mobile phone or computer. This filter reduces glare at night.
- Practice not using the mobile device before bedtime. One harmful effect of blue light overexposure is sleep disorder or insomnia. Try to limit yourself and set a cut-off time of using your mobile device, at least one hour before bedtime is recommended. Turn-off Wifi if necessary.
- Blink more often. One cause of dry eyes is our blink rate. When looking at a screen, our blink rate reduces significantly. Blink more often to keep your eyes moist and fresh.
- Regular eye checkup. Visit your ophthalmologist regularly and have your eyes check to ensure your vision is clear and healthy. You can also ask prescription of the best blue light blocking glasses to protect your eyes from too much exposure.
- Wear blue light blocking glasses. As mentioned earlier in this article, the best way to protect our eyes from blue light is to wear protective glasses. There are a lot of blue light blocking glasses out there, but we find Pixel glasses the best of the best. Pixel glasses feature handcrafted frames with premium anti-reflective coating and surgical grade protection that blocks 95% of blue light wavelengths.
Benefits of Wearing Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Blue light blocking glasses help increase our melatonin production that can fix sleep disorder. Also, always wearing these glasses especially at work will protect us against digital eyes strain that causes blurred vision and dizziness. Below are other benefits of wearing blue light blocking glasses: (See also: Simple Lifestyle Changes For Complete Eye Care)
- Work involves long hours of staring at a computer screen. If you’re spending more than 10 hours of screen time at work, wearing blue light glasses will protect your eyes from fatigue and prevent eye strain. Note that damage from blue light is cumulative, the more you are exposed to it without protection, the more likely you are to experience eye problems as you age.
- You’re already experiencing digital eye strain. Are you experiencing blurred vision, headaches, dry eyes, eye redness or eye fatigue? All of these are symptoms of having a digital eye strain. Eliminate these symptoms by using blue light blocking glasses – it will keep the eye relaxed during screen time.
- You’re experiencing sleep disorder. If you have trouble falling asleep, then it may be caused by too much blue light exposure at night. Blue light exposure at night suppresses melatonin production that disrupts our circadian rhythm – our sleep and wake cycles. Note that lack of proper sleep can cause serious health problems such as depression, cardiovascular disease, and even diabetes. Correct your sleep cycle by wearing blue light blocking glasses when exposed to blue light at night, especially before bedtime.
- You’re working on a night shift. If you’re working on a night shift schedule, exposing yourself to blue light during night time is unavoidable. Hence, you are more prone to experience a sleep disorder that can cause serious health concerns. Blue light glasses help your body regulate melatonin production.
- You’re concerned about your long-term health. As mentioned, blue light exposure damage is cumulative and the longer you are exposed to it, the more likely you’ll experience the harmful effects down the road. The effects include serious or permanent eye damage like blindness. Wearing blue light blocking glasses limit how much light your eyes are exposed to which helps your eyes stay healthy over time.
- You want to wear glasses for fashion. If you want to wear glasses just for style, then wear stylish blue light blocking glasses. Not only your eyes will be protected from blue light but also from UV light.
There’s a lot of research proving that the use of blue light blocking glasses can give us a number of benefits. Also, it’s the least expensive and simplest way to protect our health, increase melatonin production and thereby regulate proper sleep that lowered the risk of any chronic diseases. You can try it for at least a week, wear it not just at night but anytime you’re exposed to artificial light and see the result.
About The Author:
Sumeet Manhas is a T-Shaped digital marketer and freelancer on Up work where he talks about digital marketing case studies, tips, techniques, and more. Helping startups with digital marketing is what he loves.
