With online learning now commonplace in the post-Covid landscape, many people including children are spending hours in front of computer screens. Office workers spend their days in front of laptops, and our kids are in virtual classrooms through their computers, so what does all this screen time mean for us? We wanted to find out so we took a look at what exactly blue light is and what can be done about it.
Blue Light From Screens
Modern devices have screens that are designed to emit a large amount of high energy visible light in the form of blue light. That is why when you see someone on a laptop or phone at night, they are bathed in pale blue light from their device. This blue light enters our eyes and a number of things occur. Firstly, the blue light is strong to our eyes, so they can fatigue after extended screen use. It can also keep you awake at night due to the fact that it upsets our natural melatonin production, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep.
What Can Be Done About It?
Blue light glasses are eyeglasses that manufacturers claim will filter out blue light from your eyes. The glasses usually have surface coatings or filtering elements on the lenses, which block a section of the visible spectrum of light. People who believe that their vision and eye symptoms are caused by too much blue light exposure can wear these glasses to reduce their exposure to it. Studies have shown that people can be exposed to the amount of blue light that the average person receives is reduced when wearing the glasses. This is one of the reasons why blue light glasses are becoming more and more popular.
How Do They Work?
How do light blue glasses work? The filtering elements in the eyeglasses work by filtering out blue light between 380 to 500nm, the strongest light in the visible spectrum. The lenses are designed to filter the amount of blue light that reaches the eye. A prescription can come with these blue light lenses, but you need to check with your doctor before purchasing one so that you find one that will fit your needs. If you are buying one for your use only, it is important that you choose one that you can return if you need to.
Can They Help Sleep?
One of the reasons why you want to wear these glasses is because of their effectiveness at helping you sleep better at night. Studies have shown that melatonin can help people sleep better as well as allowing them to wake up more refreshed each day. People who have a lack of melatonin in their bodies do not have as good of a sleep pattern and may get up many times during the day tired. Blue light glasses limit the disruptive blue light from entering our eye, which means our melatonin can work properly in our bodies.
What About Headaches?
Another problem that many people report when using screens is headaches caused by looking at the screen. Anyone who has ever suffered from a headache knows how annoying they can be. These types of headaches are also known as ‘acute’. You should know that while migraines are the most common form of acute headaches, there are other forms that can occur such as tension-type headaches, cluster headaches, sinus headaches, temporal headaches and skull headaches. By wearing prescription glasses to combat the effects of these headaches, you can keep your eyes working properly and prevent you from ever having another form of eyestrain again.
Sleep Benefits
If you have ever suffered from sleep deprivation problems or are starting to experience insomnia, chances are you have heard of blue light glasses. Well, if you haven’t, you need to find out why it is a popular treatment for sleep disorders and how it can help you get a full night’s rest. One of the major benefits of blue light glasses is that it actually regulates your melatonin, which is a hormone secreted in the pineal gland. If your melatonin levels drop, you can get sleep deprivation and difficulties staying asleep. This problem is caused by the circadian rhythm in your body that dictates when you should be asleep and wake up at night. Unfortunately, many of us cannot escape having to use electronics, laptops and cell phones in daily life.