![]() ![]() ![]() Blue light blocking screen covers are a “one and done solution,” whereas you have to remember to put your blue light glasses on. Other blue light blocking productsīeyond blue light glasses, Hartl said she recommends blue light blocking screen covers that you can put on your computer, phones and tablets. Because of this, Hartl said it’s more important to wear blue light blocking glasses when you’re using handheld tech. But if you’re a few inches away from your computer, phone or tablet screen, you’re exposed to more intense blue light. When you’re sitting 5 to 10 feet away from a TV, for example, Hartl said the light the screen emits loses energy before it gets to your eyes. #BLUE BLOCKS GLASSES PORTABLE#Shopping How I chose an ideal portable hard drive for me When to wear blue light glassesīeyond how much time you spend in front of screens, Hartl said how close you are to them also impacts how much blue light you’re exposed to. ![]() Darkness prompts our body to start producing it and light causes that production to stop. On top of that, blue light suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep cycle. Blue light targets melanopsin - when our eyes don’t see blue light, it signals to melanopsin that it’s time for our bodies to sleep. One of the highest wavelengths that comes off screens is in the 460 nanometer range, within which they’re absorbed by melanopsin, a pigment in our eyes that controls our circadian rhythm. What we do know is that light is one of the most important external factors affecting our readiness for sleep, according to The Sleep Foundation. Studying blue light’s impact relies on cell cultures and animal models, Hartl said - there are no human trials. Scientists and medical experts don’t exactly know the extent to which blue light can damage human eyes, Hartl told us, since people have only been using technology frequently for a few years. Shopping Why I recommend everyone keep a French press on hand How does blue light impact our health? We talked to experts about the many ways blue light impacts our health, and asked them to recommend the best products to help mitigate the effects of blue light as we spend all day using tech to work, learn, exercise and socialize. These clear lenses offer minimal blue light filtration, making them less effective than yellow lenses. And while clear lenses in blue light blocking glasses won’t harm you in any way, Rapoport said, they also don’t help your eye health, nor do they benefit your sleep cycle. The darker yellow lenses are, the more efficiently they block blue light. Dubbed “sleep glasses,” Hartl explained, they absorb blue light while allowing other wavelengths - units by which we measure light - to pass through. Some blue light glasses have yellow lenses. She said in order to mitigate the effects of blue light, you need to control how much you're exposed to and how intense the exposure is. Ophthalmologist Kara Hartl, MD, has spent over a decade studying the effects of blue light on our eyes and bodies. Blue light glasses can mitigate these effects but not totally eliminate them. When we stare at screens before bed, we’re exposed to blue light, which tricks our brains into thinking it’s still daytime and disrupts our circadian rhythm. According to The Sleep Foundation, light is the most important factor in aligning circadian rhythms. So what’s the point of blue light glasses? They can positively impact our sleep cycle. If you use your computer at night and stare at your screen for hours, you are suppressing your sleep cycle right then and there. This causes our corneas to dry out, which can lead to itching, burning and fatigue.” “But screens are harmful for our eyes because when we stare at screens, we forget to blink. “The short answer is that blue light glasses really don’t help our eye health at all,” Rapoport explained. As it turns out, the glasses didn’t fix everything for me - but that’s not surprising, according to ophthalmologist Yuna Rapoport, MD, founder and director of Manhattan Eye. Knowing I couldn't decrease my screen time much (and at the urging of friends and family), I decided to try a pair of blue light blocking glasses. I could barely stay awake during dinner, too. At the end of the day, my eyes burned and my brain was throbbing. Between attending school online and work, my eyes were rarely off my iPhone, iPad and laptop (sometimes glancing between all three for hours). A few months into the coronavirus pandemic, I realized I was spending about 14 hours a day looking at a computer screen. ![]()
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