What Computer Glasses are the Best?

So many of us stare at our computer screens for hours on end each and every day. Compound that exposure with the amount of exposure your eyes receive from your smartphone and tablet screens throughout the day and evening. Let's face it, that is a whole lot of time focused on screens that emit blue light.

This much time spent looking at computer and device screens can result in a myriad of troubling symptoms that many of us suffer on a daily basis. Have you experienced any of the following: tired eyes, blank spots in your vision, dry eye, blurry vision, or headaches? Chances are you may have suffered some or all of these symptoms at some point in time, particularly if you are sitting in front of a computer all day long.

The truth is we are surrounded by screens in our homes, in the streets, even in the stores and restaurants where we like to shop and relax. Everywhere you turn, it seems that another screen is there to have a negative impact on the condition of your eyes. It's not just our laptops, tablets, and phones, those high definition televisions and even our appliances and automobile dashboards are emitting the kind of light that can make your eyes feel uncomfortable and trigger headaches. 

Digital Eye Strain

Yes, it's a real thing and yes, you may be suffering from the effects of it and not even realize. In fact, the symptoms associated with digital eye strain can not only impact your eyesight but prove to be detrimental to your overall well-being. This form of eye strain is due to the direct and long-term exposure to blue light that emanates from computer, laptop, phone, and HDTV screens, just to name a few.

One of the more prevalent issues that can arise from the impacts of digital eye strain, besides the ones mentioned above, is an interruption in your sleep patterns. This is particularly true for those who spend prolonged time in front of a screen in the hours leading up to bedtime. Exposure to this form of blue light can disrupt the natural circadian rhythms that allow you to get a good night's rest.

As we sleep, we naturally secrete melatonin which helps our bodies slow down and rest and stay at rest throughout the evening. But blue light exposure, especially for those who stay up late working or sitting in front of a high-def television, can disrupt the secretion of melatonin, making it harder to sleep and reducing the quality of that sleep.

 Blue Light Glasses

So you've read about the symptoms and effects that blue light exposure can have on your health and well-being, now what can you do about it? After all, your job requires you to spend long hours in front of a computer, your phone and tablet are lifelines for your business, and everything from billboards to refrigerators come equipped with digital displays.

The best way to combat digital eye strain is with blue light glasses. These are the best type of computer glasses because they are designed for one purpose only, to reduce the effects of blue light exposure on your eyes and minimize the after-effects that can be so damaging to your eyesight and impact your health.

You can find many different brands and models on the market in a variety of frame styles and colors, each one claiming to offer a significant reduction in glare from blue light.

In order to fully understand how these glasses can prove beneficial to your eyes, you need to know how blue light works in relation to all of the other forms of light that are emitted on a daily basis. This all starts with the sun and the full spectrum of light that is found in its beams, including colors such as red, orange, green, yellow, and of course, blue light.

 Since there are so many different colors of light, they also come with their own specific levels of energy and wavelengths. The longer the wavelength, the less energy being emitted by that color of light. As an example, red travels amongst the longest of wavelengths so it holds the least amount of energy.

 But as we consider blue in particular, this color of light travels along a much shorter wavelength which means it packs some of the most energy. So much energy in fact, that blue light is much closer to ultraviolet light than any other color that comes from sunlight.

Intense blue light exposure has other potential dangers than just those we've discussed already. Studies have proven that extended exposure to blue light can be damaging to the retina of the eye. This is because the eye can have a lot of difficulty trying to adapt to blue light and when you force it to make such adjustments for long periods of time, digital eye strain occurs.

But if you wear a pair of blue light glasses you're placing your eyes in the care of special lenses that have been given filtering properties that reduce up to 50% of blue light and 95% of the light at the strongest wavelengths. Be careful when you choose the brand and model you want, be sure the lenses don't leave you seeing a yellowish tint which can be evident from some types of blue light glasses. Blue light filtration techniques can create a yellow hue and that can negatively affect your sight.