Blue light blocking glasses: Do we really need them?

Blue Light Protection

It’s fair to say digital devices (which emit blue light!) now play a major role in our lives.
From Salesforce to Snapchat and from Tinder to Trello, screens of varying sizes and portability dominate a lot, if not most of our waking time. Even if you happen to be a landscape gardener, a painter, or some other profession not revolving around computer screens, chances are you have a smartphone and an accompanying smartphone addiction.

Ok, ok, we know, you could give it up if you wanted to…right?

The Facts

Britons last year checked their phones an average of 28 times a day, and for a total of over 2 hours, that number soaring for 16-35 year olds.

All this screen time adds up to a lot, and not many people know that digital devices can emit blue light. That’s light just above ultra-violet light on the spectrum and whilst the human eye is good at blocking UV light (hardly any reaches the retina) almost all visible blue light passes through to the back of your eye.

That’s not to say all blue light is bad…

Some blue light exposure is beneficial and has been shown to increase alertness, help our mood and boost cognitive function. In other words, make us feel happy and awake. The problem arises when we get too much blue light, especially before bed or after staring for hours at screens.

As it’s harder to focus on blue light, prolonged screen use can cause digital eye strain and if you’re trying to squeeze in one more episode of The Crown at 1:30am, that blue light will be inhibiting your melatonin production, making it harder to sleep and interrupting your circadian rhythm.

So, do you need blue light protection?

If you spend only a couple of hours a day in front of a computer, turn off the TV a couple of hours before bed and limit yourself to a healthy amount of Instagram (earlier in the day), then probably not.

If you’re anything like us… then maybe 😉

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