If you check your phone settings to see how much screen time you spend on your phone or think about how many hours you sit in bed binge-watching Netflix, the numbers will probably be embarrassingly high for most of us. People spend the majority of their day staring at a screen. Whether you’re a college student, have an office job, like to online shop or spend a lot of your time scrolling through Instagram, you have probably noticed the strain on your eyes.
Blue light is one type of light on the light spectrum. Blue light is everywhere, but in this case, it is emitted from screens such as smartphones, tablets, computer screens and TV screens. The human eye is not very good at blocking blue light, so it often reaches all the way to the light-sensitive retina in the eye. Because of our continuous exposure to this harmful blue light, our retinas start to take a hit from something called “digital eye strain.”
But blue light is not always bad. During the day, blue light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which is the body’s natural sleep pattern. However, when blue light really becomes harmful is at night. Your brain thinks that blue light means daytime, so exposing yourself to blue light at night ruins the natural sleep cycle, and makes it harder to fall asleep and harder to wake up the next morning. If you have ever wondered why you cannot seem to get a restful night of sleep, why your eyes feel strained in the morning or why you have headaches from looking at your screen, blue light exposure before bed is probably the answer.
To avoid restless sleep from eye strain all together, you should avoid blue-light emitting screens at least two hours before you go to bed. But if you just can’t seem to convince yourself to give up those late-night Netflix or YouTube binges and Instagram scrolling sessions, there is a new solution — blue-light-blocking glasses.
Try: Sawyer Blue Light Blocking Glasses from DIFF Eyewear
If you have always wanted to pull off the studious, glasses look, but never had a reason to, now you do. These blue light blocking glasses look like any normal reading glasses, but instead, the special lenses stop the blue light of the screen from harming your eyes. These glasses can help with strain whenever you are in front of a screen, but are especially helpful for nighttime blue light exposure. Blue light glasses have been seen all over the Instagram pages of celebrities and style bloggers because of their practicality and style. They are available at a wide range of prices and trendy styles. Besides looking good, your eyes will thank you.
Try: TJIN Blue Light Blocking Glasses from Amazon
