Do blue light blocking glasses really work?

Have you heard of the new eye-wear trend that seems to be sweeping social media? I’m talking of course about blue light blocking glasses. I first heard about them via different people I follow in my Instagram feed. As someone who struggles with migraines, sometimes staring at a screen all day can easily trigger one. So, I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a go.

I ordered a fairly mid priced dual pack from Amazon. Some of these glasses started as low as £5, but I purchased this pair as you get more bang for you buck with an extra set. As someone who doesn’t need to use glasses or contact lenses I was excited to receive them and try them on.

After arriving, I used them for the entirety of the day, whilst working on my computer. This specific pair, I opted to try out the black framed glasses first, were so comfortable and lightweight that I honestly would forget I had them on. I did notice a pretty decent change in how strained my eyes were at the end of the day. I never realised before just how much extra stress I had been putting on my peepers just from screen time, including television and mobile phone usage too! My eyes felt much more relaxed, and I noticed I didn’t feel as tired, or at least I was able to keep my eyes open much more easily after work was done and I was just lounging around. I am excited to say that wearing these glasses has reduced my migraines by probably about 50% too. Whilst I still get them, and granted this may very well be due to other factors and is not to be taken as medical guidance, I get them much less often, about half as less as I did before. Not only did these babies help me out with the whole eye strain and migraine issue, but I enjoyed wearing them since they stayed on so well but were not annoying nor did they get in the way. Not to mention, I thought they were pretty cute on!

So are blue light blocking glasses all they are cracked up to be? Let’s take a look at just that.

What is blue light anyway?

According to Specsavers, Sunlight comes in many types of coloured light… and blue light is just one type of coloured within this light spectrum.”

Is blue light bad for your eyes?

The eye is not so great at blocking blue light as it is other forms of light, according to allaboutvision.com. Blue light also makes it all the way to the retina, and while one study from Harvard, suggest blue light does not damage the eye or any part of it, a good amount of exposure to blue light, mostly that from our screens is still stressful and straining on the eye. Also, according to WebMD, exposure to too much blue light can cause blurriness, dry eye, and what is called macular degeneration, or the wearing of the macular, which can cause loss of central vision. In general, whilst blue light isn’t terrible for you, taking steps to lower your blue light exposure, whether that be spending less time in front of your screens or using blue light blocking glasses, will help keep your eyes strain free.

So do blue light glasses really help?

Whilst blue light blocking glasses are good for reducing some eye strain, it is important to understand they do not completely eliminate the light from reaching your eye. While there is not enough evidence from long term studies done on blue light blocking glasses it is difficult to tell if they really help in the long run. As someone who works all day as I writer, staring endlessly at my screen, I am happy with the small differences I notice from use on a daily basis. Until we know more about how much they actually help, wearing them surely can’t hurt. Plus they offer a fun and cute way to accessorise!