Blue light technology is everywhere we turn these days making blue light glasses a must in today’s world. Whether we are at work, school or home, our smart phones, tablets, computers and smart televisions are not far away, literally. In addition to the tech-heavy society we are now living in and raising our children in, where screens are always on hand, the screens themselves have also gotten larger moving them closer to our eyes. We now live in an on-demand world where our work obligations, social media, and families expect a rapid response no matter the time of day, or at least so we think, so our screens are near us when we eat, sleep, exercise, and let’s be honest, even in the bathroom.
What is Blue Light?
Blue light is a color in the visible light spectrum that is produced in shorter wavelengths. Blue light is generally beneficial during the day time when it can boost attention span, reactions times, and mood. Blue light is produced naturally by the sun, which historically was the only or main source of blue light, but now has been brought indoors with the proliferation of electronic screens and energy efficient lighting. Blue light is also responsible for regulating the bodies sleep and wake cycle, also known as one’s circadian rhythm.
Read More: Parental Controls: Do they really work?
Studies have shown that the average person spends 10 hours a day staring at screens.
What are the Harmful Effects of Blue Light?
Blue light is harmful because of its disruptive effects at night, and with the proliferation of electronic screens and energy efficient lighting we are being exposed to it more and more. Additionally, as blue light flickers longer than other wavelengths on the light spectrum, this creates more strain on your eyes. Constant exposure to blue light not only causes sleep disruption, but also causes eye strain, headaches and vision problems that will only get worse as we age. Long term effects can include macular cellular degeneration which can eventually lead to vision loss.
The disruptive effects of blue light at night should also be taken seriously because of the effects it can have on one’s long term health, including mental health, obesity and cardiovascular problems. Sleep is essential to our bodies overall well being. Both the quality and quantity of sleep we get is important.
Read More: How to Teach Your Kids to Unplug from Tech and Get Fit
As anyone with children knows, when people don’t get enough sleep their mood suffers severely. We see it most in children but it is true for all of us. While adults may not throw tantrums and have outright meltdowns, we instead turn to caffeine, energy drinks, and sugary foods to improve our energy levels which is very problematic to our overall physical health.
How You Can Combat the Effects of Blue Light Technology
The first and most obvious answer is to wear blue light blocking glasses whenever you are looking at a screen. Whether it be a computer, phone, tablet or tv, a pair of blue light blocking glasses will be your eyes best friend. Not only will your eyes receive the benefits of doing so, you will actually feel the difference. Less headaches, even if not a full blown headache, that achy feeling behind your eyes when you wake up in the morning is because of blue light exposure, less eye pain, less dry eyes and tiredness will all be noticeable benefits when wearing blue light blocking glasses.
Read More: Screen Time Summer Rules for Kids
It shouldn’t just be just adults wearing blue light glasses. Our school age, tween and teen children are on screens just as much, if not more, than we are. Their bodies also need more sleep than adults do, and they are presumably going to be exposed for more of their lifetimes than we are to blue light so we need to start protecting their vision now.
Blue light glasses help protect your eyes by reducing the amount of harmful blue light that reaches your retina.
Additional ways to protect yourself from the harmful effects of blue light technology include:
- Use red lights as night lights, if necessary, as they are less likely to shift ones circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin.
- Avoid looking at screens for two to three hours before bedtime.
- Head outdoors during the day and expose yourself to plenty of natural, bright sunlight during the day which will boost your mood and improve your ability to sleep at night.
- Change the background settings on your devices to a warmer color instead of bright white to reduce eye strain.
- Take frequent breaks from staring at a screen and intentionally blink more often.
- Clean your screens, as a smudge-free screen creates less glare also reducing eye strain.
Blue Light Glasses from Pixel Eyewear
Frequently blue light glasses come in large, unisex frames and the lenses have a yellow or orange tint to them, making them bulky, unattractive and uncomfortable. Here to change that is Pixel Eyewear. Their blue light blocking glasses come in a wide variety of trendy, well-fitting styles, including readers and prescription lenses, making them ideal for all-day, everyday wear.
Pixel’s blue light glasses feature handcrafted frames, a premium anti-reflective coating, and surgical grade protection. Pixel’s glasses block 95% of the strongest blue light wavelengths. Additionally, Pixel’s lenses are incredibly clear making them ideal for everyday wear – whether you need glasses or not. With the ability to create your prescription glasses with blue light blocking technology they are the one-stop shop for those who wear glasses regularly. They even have glasses for the kids!
Pixel’s glasses are designed to:
- Reduce computer glare, color and image distortion
- Reduce eye strain and the resulting headaches
- Block harmful blue light rays
- Resist scratches, smudges, and repel dust and water
- Block 100% UV light
SHOP:
Luna Computer Glasses | Buteo Prescription Computer Glasses | Lepo Computer Reading Glasses | Meru Indigo Blue Kids Computer Glasses
EXPLORE AND CONNECT:
Pixel | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
Whether we like it or not we live in a digital world. The majority of our professions require that we stare at a screen for hours on end, businesses claim to be environmentally friendly by “going paperless”, and the majority of our children’s schools are now one-on-one tech schools meaning that each child has daily access to a computer. Blue light has also infiltrated our homes, cars and offices by way of energy efficient light bulbs and more. While the long term effects of blue light on the human eye may just now be coming to light, with the older generation not being nearly as exposed as we are now, we need to begin protecting ourselves today. Blue light glasses, less screen time, and more time spent outdoors are all essential components to living a happy and healthy life in today’s world.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on Tech for Tots: Technology’s Impact on Young Children.
