Protect Your Eyes from Potential Damage With Blue Light Lenses, Not Convinced? Check Out These 5 Reasons!
So, the pandemic got us all indoors and increased our screen time. Sure, we were soaking in the sun and having a good family time, but being sheltered in place took a toll on our overall health, especially our eyes. How? Blame it on blue light!
Blue light is everywhere. When indoors, fluorescent lights, CFL bulbs, LED lights, computer monitors, smartphones, tablets, and LED televisions – everything can emit blue light. When outdoors, sunlight is the major source of blue light. That’s where you can get the most of your blue light exposure from.
Blue light is the shortest wavelength containing the most energy in the light spectrum that the human eye can see. Therefore, eye care professionals are highly concerned about its excessive exposure.
Both outdoor activities and increased screen time expose your eyes to increased levels of light radiation that can contribute to eye discomfort and can result in irreversible damage to the retina.
With the escalation in remote-online learning, online working, online shopping, online gaming, socializing with Zoom, etc., everyone is experiencing the effects of excessive screen time and, thus, the resulting blue light.
To preserve your vision, blue-blocking lenses or glasses are a fantastic investment. These maintain visual performance, macular health, and sleep quality. Blue blockers aren’t subject to exhaustive research. But many studies suggest that using blue light glasses may reduce the damaging effects of this high-energy visible light.
Here are five reasons for the rising demand for blue light lenses and glasses:
1. Reduce Digital Eye Strain, Dryness, and Other Diseases
Computer screens and digital device screens have high blue light emission rates, and blue light, by its nature, is unfocused visual ‘noise,’ reducing contrast and degrading visual quality. As you spend more and more time staring at digital screens, you might experience digital eye discomfort and musculoskeletal disorders at increasing levels. Blue-blocking glasses can prevent your eyes from drying out, experiencing fatigue and stress, soreness, difficulty concentrating, and other eye-related risks like retinal damage.
Read more here: Blue Light and Your Eyes
2. Rising Concern for Kids’ Eye Health and Comfort
Parents are becoming concerned with their kids spending their school day in front of screens, even during the game and social time. Blue light affects the body’s melatonin production disturbing its circadian rhythm. Kids can find it difficult to have a quality sleep and wake up feeling tired.
Blue light can also penetrate the cornea, reaching the retina, leading to detrimental side effects in your little ones’ eyes. So many parents like you are seeing the warning signs of overexposure to blue light in their kids and looking for alternatives like blue light glasses to reduce the risks.
3. Increased Awareness of Digital Blue Light Emissions
Increased exposure to these wavelengths has been associated with several health concerns. A controlled exposure can boost your alertness, help with brain functioning, and elevate your mood. But the downsides, too, cannot be neglected. The research on this topic is gradually increasing. People are slowly getting aware of the pros and cons of blue light exposure. But the information by Dr. Google can be pretty contradictory and confusing. Many people are turning to their eye doctor for better guidance. (GOOD IDEA!) And if you require blue light glasses, your eye doctor can examine your situation and suggest the right options.
4. Sunlight Poses a Risk both From Blue Light and High-Energy UVR
There’s a reason why experts suggest always wearing sunglasses when outdoors. Prolonged sunlight exposure impacts your skin, hair, and eyes. The effects are more significant in kids whose eyes are susceptible to actinic light damage from UVR and HEV blue light. Their young eye lenses transmit more to the retina, so the risk of cumulative damage from overexposure is real.
Sunlight is a beautiful thing, especially on cold winter days in Minnesota. But we must respect its power and protect our skin and eyes, ESPECIALLY IN WINTER. A child’s eyes are more vulnerable to photochemical injury from high-energy light, and their eyes absorb more of it than adult eyes. Blue-blocking glasses can do wonders to preserve their young vision.
5. Consumers Are Seeking a Trusted Eye Doctor to Recommend Reliable Solutions
Not just kids at school and those working from home; everyone is at risk of the adverse effects of blue light. You may be thinking you are soaking the sun for some Vitamin D. But, you could literally be burning your skin and your eyes in the process. Eye sunburn, called photokeratitis, is pretty common. Any kind of eye inflammation can be damaging if not caught early on. Prolonged blue light exposure can also cause age-related macular degeneration. Blue-blocking glasses, along with the necessary lifestyle and diet changes, are a good way to minimize the damage. However, there are multitudes of options for blue light filter lenses with conflicting claims. Turn to your eye doctor or an experienced optician to explain the best options.
Eye Care Needs to Start Young!
Since a child’s retina can absorb up to 70% more UVR than an adult’s eye, UVR is more damaging than HEV (High-Energy Visible) blue light. But, blue light screen emissions raise a major concern: The proximity of screens, especially with smartphones that are held closer to the eyes. Proximity = increased intensity, leading to headaches, blurry vision, insomnia, adverse mood, and general unrest. So, start early, start young, and adopt eye-friendly practices to maintain good vision.
