Can Sunglasses Block Blue Light : Top Tips For Eye Protection

Our eyes are our windows to the world. Naturally, we try to treat them with care by going for annual optometry check ups and surrounding them with high quality eyewear. But there’s one thing we often overlook when it comes to eye care: our exposure to blue light. These harmful rays have become increasingly prevalent in our technologically-driven world and are important to consider. We’ll be explaining why blue light matters when it comes to eye protection below.

What Is Blue Light?

Part of the visible light spectrum, blue light is a wavelength that can be seen by human eyes. Its short length means that it produces a high level of energy that is harmful to our eyes in large amounts.

The sun is a natural source of blue light, but it’s also commonly found in artificial sources such as cell phones, computer screens, televisions, and LED lights.

Why Is Blue Light Harmful?

Blue light is actually helpful in small doses. Its energetic bursts help us feel more alert and even lifts our mood during the day. However, prolonged exposure can lead to eye strain, dryness, headaches, fatigue, a disrupted sleep cycle, retina damage, and, in extreme cases, blindness.

Our susceptibility to blue light has increased exponentially in recent years as our relationship with technology has progressed. Before digital screens became such an important part of our lives, humans’ main exposure to blue light was through the sun. This helped our circadian rhythms - or natural sleep cycles - stay consistent as evenings and nights were free of blue light.

Nowadays our eyes are constantly exposed to blue light, sometimes from the moment we wake to the moment we fall asleep. All of this blue light disrupts our circadian rhythm, as our bodies aren’t able to tell the difference between day and night. If you’ve noticed that you’ve been having trouble sleeping or have been suffering from headaches, you may want to consider your relationship with blue light.

How To Protect Your Eyes From Blue Light

Blue light will forever be a part of our lives, but there are some things we can do to limit our exposure and protect our eyes.

• Reduce your screen time. Sometimes staring at a screen is inevitable, but we could all probably spend less time scrolling on our phones to kill time. Try to avoid looking at screens for the last two hours of your day, and use dim lighting at home during this time. We know those late night Instagram scrolls are tempting, but your eyes and mind will benefit more from reading a book.
• Use protective screen filters. You may want to invest in a screen filter if you work in front of a computer all day. These helpful tools reduce the amount of blue light that comes from the screen.
• Choose the right eyewear. There are special glasses available that work as blue light filters, or you can use coloured lenses that naturally counter blue light.

The Best Glasses For Blue Light Protection

Coloured lenses are a stylish and convenient way to battle blue light exposure. Each lens colour has unique properties that protect the eyes, and some of them are great at blocking out blue light. So, which colours should you go for?

• Yellow lenses can block up to 70% of blue light
• Orange lenses can block up to 89% of blue light
• Red lenses can block up to 90% of blue light
• Blue Light lenses can block up to 99% of blue light

Remember, we do need some blue light throughout the day. While red lenses may be a good choice for evenings, yellow or orange lenses may be better for daytime use. You may also choose to invest in specialised lenses that filter out blue light. These lenses are transparent and will look like regular glasses, but will give your eyes a lot of extra protection! 

Protect your eyes in style by customising your sunglasses with our beautiful coloured lenses!