Instant effects of blue light glasses
Immediately upon putting the glasses on, you'll notice that the glare from your screen is reduced — it becomes less blindingly bright and takes on a more tolerable, amber tinge. The feeling really is akin to putting on a pair of sunglasses — though, of course, these lenses are clear. That's score one for blue light-blocking glasses.
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Style
As a routine glasses-wearer who has sentenced herself to wearing slightly frumpy wire-rims for reasons of comfort and laziness, my snazzy new blue light-blocking frames gained me a good amount of compliments. I got various forms of "Are those new glasses? I love them!" the whole time I was testing the lenses. It definitely tempted me to throw out my nebbish frames in favor of something more stylish...but, once again, laziness won out.
Reduced eye strain
Wearing them at my computer all day, it was a little tough to discern just how much of a difference the glasses were making — especially as I know myself to be particularly vulnerable to the placebo effect. (What can I say? I'm gullible.) That said, when I wore them while using my phone, the effects were much more noticeable. When I'm reading a book or playing games on my phone, my eyes usually start to feel a little strained and tired after half an hour or so. With the glasses, I didn't experience that feeling of eye strain, even though I got sucked into reading a page-turner ("Lethal White," the latest from J.K. Rowling's alter ego, Robert Galbraith) for well over an hour.
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Will I keep wearing my blue light glasses?
After trying out the glasses and gaining a healthy fear of blue light from Dr. Thau and the AOA, I'm going to do my best to wear the glasses when I think about it. I now keep a pair by my desk that I find myself reaching for towards the late afternoon when my eyes are getting a bit more tired. I also have a pair at home for whenever I'm spending a prolonged amount of time wiling away the hours on my smartphone. I'm not going to lie: It's not going to be something I'll always remember to do, but a little blue light protection is better than none at all, right?
Overall, I'd definitely recommend checking out blue light frames if you spend a lot of time staring at various screens (and in this day and age, who doesn't?)
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A few more tips for avoiding eye strain
Since I feel like something of an extreme case when it comes to blue light exposure, I asked the AOA for some other tips I could use to protect myself, in addition to wearing the glasses. Here are some of their top suggestions:
The 20-20-20 rule: "Doctors of optometry urge patients to follow the 20-20-20 rule: Take a 20-second break to view something 20 feet away every 20 minutes, especially when using any electronic device or computer."
Distance: "Maintain a comfortable distance from your device. To avoid bringing the device closer to your eyes, use the zoom feature to see small print and details."
Adjust your devices: "Reduce the glare on your device by adjusting device settings or using a glare filter to decrease the amount of blue light reflecting from the screen." (Sleep mode is one such option).
Avoid before bedtime: "Using digital devices that emit blue light before bed prolongs the time it takes to fall asleep, so avoid using technology at least an hour before bed."
See your doctor: "Visit a doctor of optometry regularly for a comprehensive eye exam and to learn more strategies to prevent blue light overexposure."
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