I Fell for the Anti-Blue Light Glasses Sham

Don’t buy those glasses until you read this!

We’ve all heard this one before: “Anti-Blue Light glasses protect your eyes from this bad light.” Some brands even claim that theirs improves eyesight and sleep. Welp, they got me. I’m short-sighted, and I’m always in front of some screen, so of course they got me. I told myself, “get them, they’ll be a worthy expense”. Oh, how wrong I was!

Before you fall for their effective marketing and social media-inspired FOMO too, let me break the science for you.

First of all, what is blue light?

Visible light, the spectrum our eyes perceive as colour, includes a range of light of different wavelengths. The shorter the wavelength, the brighter the light, and blue light’s wavelength is at the shorter end of this spectrum. It’s not just emitted by digital screens, though, the sun is an even more powerful source of blue light.

The common concerns with blue light are:

• It affects the sleep-wake cycle; exposure to blue light reduces melatonin production, a hormone which is secreted to help us sleep. This isn’t really bad news though, increased exposure of blue light as the sun rises in the morning helps us wake up and stay awake.
• Blue light exposure causes eye strain; Some studies claim that increased exposure of blue light from digital screens cause dry eyes, blurred visions and headaches. These claims haven’t been proven though.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has reviewed numerous studies on the effectiveness of blue light blocking glasses. Here’s a breakdown of their key findings:

• Eye Strain: Research has proven that eye strain when using digital screens is caused by reduced blinking and increased focused, not the blue light itself.
• Sleep Quality: Using anti-blue glasses can help improve your sleep quality by using them in the evening when you have to use your screen, but if you can keep them away 2–3 hours before your bedtime, you’ll definitely have a better sleep quality.
• Eye Health: Anti-blue light glasses do reduce your eye’s exposure to blue light, that does not improve eye health because the blue light doesn’t affect your eye’s health to begin with. There’s actually little difference between those who wear these glasses and those who don’t.

Based on these conclusions, the AAO doesn’t recommend blue light blocking glasses for better eye health or any other story it’s being marketed for.

Instead of falling for this fad as I did, here are a few evidence-based strategies to reduce eye strain and eye health for people who have a high screen time.

• The 20–20–20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look away from the screen for 20 seconds and focus on an object 20 feet away. This helps relax your eye muscles.
• Adjust Screen Brightness: Lowering the screen brightness to a comfortable level can reduce eye strain.
• Night Shift Mode: Many devices offer a “night shift” mode that reduces blue light emissions in the evening hours. This might be helpful for promoting better sleep.

Knowing what I know now, would I have bought my anti-blue light glasses? No, but do I regret buying them? Still no.

You can’t blame me, the pair I got are really cute and they do frame my face nicely.

My regrets don’t matter though, because I’ve bought them already, so I must get my money’s worth out of them, it’s the African way( even if you no longer like something you just bought, you will still use it because your money cannot waste!)

What health and wellness product marketing sham did you fall for?