Blue Light Blocking Lenses

Our patients are spending more time than ever staring at screens. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, and gaming systems all emit digital blue light. Some of our patients report that the blue light is causing eye strain, dry eye symptoms, and even impacting their restful sleep. If you think screen time is affecting you adversely, have one of our optometrists at Swan Family Optometry in Fair Oaks examine your eyes. We may make recommendations about wearing blue light filtering glasses.

What is Blue Light?

The light we see comes in different colors and different wavelengths. Blue light has a shorter wavelength but higher amounts of energy. Most of the blue light we see comes from the sun, but electronic devices also give off some blue light. The human eye is not very good at filtering blue light on its own.

Blue light can interfere with your circadian rhythm or sleep cycle. The body relies on natural periods of darkness and light to regulate wake times and sleep times. But blue light, more than any other color of light, blocks the hormone called melatonin that helps you fall asleep. Even if you wear blue light blocking lenses during the day, it is a good idea to discontinue screen time an hour or two before going to bed for the night.

How Blue Light Blocking Glasses Work

The lenses on blue light blocking glasses are specially treated to filter out rays of blue light. Some glasses are also treated to reduce glare. Our patients report that blue light glasses have helped to reduce eye strain and improve their sleep. We also recommend taking short breaks from staring intently at a screen by routinely focusing on something in the distance. It is also helpful to remain an arm's length away from the screen. You may also find that using lubricating eye drops regularly helps to combat the phenomenon of blinking less often while looking at a screen.