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The Ugly Truth about Blue Blocking Transparent Glasses
There are so many blue blocking glasses out there, but how can you know if they really do the work they supposed to do?
Many blue blocker companies make transparent blue blockers that block very little blue light. They send it with a small LED flashlight and a card, so you can check if they really work.
But wait… the flashlight which they give you only emits 400 nanometers blue light. This kind of specific light emitted from this small flashlight is actually nonexistent in laptop, phone screens, and LED lights.
Conclusion?
They will not reduce blue light exposure and they won’t help against the the many health hazards caused by artificial blue light such as:
- Headaches
- CSV (computer vision syndrome)
- Itchy, dry eyes
- Red eyes
- Stress hormone (cortisol) overproduction
- Bad sleep
How can I know if my blue blocking glasses really work?
If there is no yellowish tint on the lenses the blue blocking glasses are practically worthless.
Why?
Because without yellow tint on the lenses it is impossible to block HEV blue light. HEV stands for high energy visible light that it is the blue range spectrum at about 455 nanometer.
This kind of light is worst when it comes to eye health and circadian rhythm which controls a lot of our hormone production.
So you want to make sure that if you buy blocking glasses it reduces the intensity of HEV light. This will really make a difference with headaches, dry eyes, computer vision syndrome, and cortisol overstimulation (blue light is a stimulus for cortisol production).
On the other hand, not all blue light is bad. Read our post about when you should not block blue light!
Blue Blocking Glasses Shopping Guide:
- For daytime use (computer, LED, phone, CFL tubes): it must have a yellowish tint)
- For night-time use: It must have deep orange, red tint on the lens
Blue Blocking Glasses when to wear them?
Night-time blue blockers
Blue light is the most disruptive and worst for our health at night. It can really wreak havoc on melatonin levels according to Harvard Study and many others too.
You want to make sure you block all blue and green light at night.
Why?
These lights disrupt our circadian rhythm and can mess up our hormone production. Blue light literally sends the signals to our brain through our eye receptor (melanopsin) that it is daytime. This makes our brain start producing cortisol and adrenalin (which both should be the lowest).
Furthermore, it stop the production of melatonin our sleep hormone which is responsible for healing damaged cells and making sure that our cells are fit and healthy.
Low melatonin = not good:
- worse regeneration
- increased cancer risk according to many studies (1, 2) source: (PubMed) – only scientific studies
- worse sugar metabolism
- faster cell death
- overall faster aging
Check out our stylish night-time sleep glasses:
Daytime Blue Blockers
When you are exposed to artificail light such as: computer, laptop, tablet, TV screens or any kind of energy saving light bulb you want to block blue light with yellowish tinted glasses such as these:
If you are staying outdoors and the Sun is up, you do not need to block blue light – Why? Because the Sun contains healthy full-spectrum balanced blue light.
For a more detailed explanation and some other sleep hacks- check out this short article of ours
Take home message
- Spend time outdoors – (vitamin D, mood, serotonin, melatonin)
- Indoors: Use blue-blocking glasses
- Night: Use night-time red lens blue blockers
- Artificial blue light is also bad for our skin – use software to filter out blue light on your PC, phone or TV (How to make your TV screen red)
- Check our review on Best Blue Blocking Apps & Software