Our digitally-oriented society has us spending more time online and staring at screens than ever before. Between hours spent working, shopping online, browsing social media, and enjoying your favorite TV shows, movies, or video games, many of us spend nearly all day with our eyes glued to a smartphone, computer monitor, or TV screen. As a result, people are also being exposed to more blue light than ever before, which can lead or contribute to a number of health issues including headaches, mental and physical fatigue, blurred vision, digital eye strain, dry eyes, and poor sleep.
With all that said, it should come as no surprise that blue light blocking glasses are becoming an increasingly popular way to combat these problems. We've talked a lot about what blue light is and how it can affect your health, but there are still a lot of questions those considering buying a pair of blue light glasses need addressed. In this post, we'll answer 9 of the most common questions we receive about blue light glasses.
1. DO BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING GLASSES ACTUALLY WORK?
The short answer is yes. Blue light lenses do help with preventing blue light from digital screens from reaching your eyes, which can help prevent or alleviate some of the unpleasant symptoms you experience from prolonged exposure to digital screens. In fact, research conducted in 2011 and 2015 with Keio University in Tokyo demonstrated that wearing JINS SCREEN blue light glasses reduces eye fatigue and helps improve quality of sleep.
It is worth noting that blue light glasses may not address all of the side effects of excessive screen time, but when coupled with some simple lifestyle changes like restricting device usage before bed or taking periodic breaks throughout the day, many users report a major difference.
2. HOW DO BLUE LIGHT GLASSES WORK?
Though they provide a great many advantages for those in need, high index lenses aren't the right choice for everyone. For example, polycarbonate lenses are significantly more impact-resistant and may therefore be a better choice for children's glasses. High index lenses are also more limited with respect to tinting, so if you're looking for a dark-tinted lens, they're unlikely to be a good match.
Blue light glasses work by filtering incoming blue light before it reaches your eyes. How much blue light is filtered depends on the type of lens you select:
- JINS SCREEN DAILY USE +$30 (clear with blue coating): 25% block ratio
- JINS SCREEN HEAVY USE +$60 (light green tint): 40% block ratio
3. HOW TO TELL IF MY LENSES HAVE BLUE LIGHT PROTECTION?
If you didn't specifically request blue light protection as an additional feature while purchasing your current pair of glasses, your lenses likely do not have a blue light filter.
When you order glasses from JINS, you can add one of our three available levels of blue light protection to any of our frames. With over 600 available optical styles, you don't have to compromise your look to get a pair of glasses that offer maximum blue light protection. Just make sure to choose JINS SCREEN DAILY USE, JINS SCREEN HEAVY USE, or JINS SCREEN NIGHT USE under the “Lens Option” section before adding to your cart.
4. CAN BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING GLASSES DAMAGE YOUR EYES?
No. Blue light blocking glasses don't damage your eyes. In fact, blue light glasses shield your eyes from the damaging effects of blue light, which is the type of light that's emitted from electronic devices, like tablets, smartphones and laptops.
5. CAN BLUE LIGHT GLASSES REALLY HELP YOU GET BETTER SLEEP?
Blue light affects your body's natural production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you feel sleepy. Before the multi-screen era, blue light exposure mostly came from natural sources like the sun, but today, the number of blue light producing screens we interact with daily means we're all getting well above our normal dosage.
JINS SCREEN NIGHT USE glasses block up to 60% of blue light and include an amber tint to block blue light from reaching your eyes, making it easier for your body to produce melatonin and get a good night's rest.
6. WILL BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING GLASSES HELP WITH EYE STRAIN?
While there isn't any hard evidence to prove blue light blocking glasses prevent eye strain, some people who use them report experiencing less eye strain when using electronic devices. Because eyestrain can be caused by looking at digital screens for prolonged periods of time, wearing blue light glasses is usually insufficient to prevent eye strain alone. But as many users will tell you, it's possible that eye strain could be lessened by wearing blue light glasses — it all depends on your individual eyes.
7. DO BLUE LIGHT GLASSES HELP WITH HEADACHES?
Headaches are a common symptom of digital eye strain, which is caused by looking at digital screens for long periods of time. As we pointed out above, blue light glasses don't entirely prevent digital eye strain, but some users report less strain on their eyes while wearing blue light glasses and using digital devices. So if you're regularly experiencing headaches while working on a computer, browsing the web, or gaming blue light glasses are likely worth exploring.
8. DO BLUE LIGHT GLASSES HELP WITH NIGHT DRIVING?
Blue light glasses can help users with night driving since they reduce some of the glare from oncoming headlights, streetlights, etc. However, heavy duty blue light blockers like JINS SCREEN NIGHT USE will also make everything in your visual environment appear to be tinted yellow, so keep this in mind if night driving is a primary concern. To combat this issue, some users will have one pair of glasses for driving/daytime use with a lower grade blue light blocker and a nighttime pair for use in the evenings or before bed.
9. WHO SHOULD WEAR BLUE LIGHT GLASSES?
Anyone who spends a significant part of their day looking at digital screens may want to consider blue light glasses, especially if they're experiencing sleep problems or other symptoms of digital eye strain. Other ways to limit your blue light exposure include setting your computer display to "Night Mode" at certain times of the late afternoon or evening and not using digital devices before bed.
However, since a few of these options aren't necessarily convenient or realistic, blue light glasses may be a good option if you spend a lot of time in front of a screen.
If you want to find out for yourself how blue light glasses can help limit the effects of extensive screen time, check out our virtual try-on feature to find your next pair, or buy glasses online with ease using our Worry-Free Adjustment Service for up to $30 off your frame adjustment at your local optometrist.
