Digital devices are a part of our everyday life. It is rare now for many of us to go an entire day without looking at a smartphone, tablet, television, or computer. Likely the biggest issue from the excess blue light given off by digital devices is sleep disruption. Which adds to a host of other issues, and research suggests that the excess blue light may be behind other health problems. One of particular worry is that research suggests exposure to blue light may cause cataracts, eye strain, and eye damage.
Though there are a few things we can do to help fight these issues. The first is that we can spend less time looking at digital devices. Especially too much time all at once. You may have to look at a computer screen all day for work, but if possible give yourself breaks by doing other tasks in between. Try to spend at least fifteen minutes of every hour device free if possible.
When you do have to look at a digital device often, consider getting glasses specifically designed to lower the amount of blue light you are exposed to. Ensure that you purchase these glasses from a reliable source. We recommend Gunnar. ( https://gunnar.com/ ) They even offer their products in prescription options. In our experience they produce quality products. Unfortunately, some of us have had bad experiences with their customer service. One member of our team decided to branch out and try some of the other frame types while the glasses were on sale, and it turned out they gave her headaches. So she returned them, which cost her $18 in shipping. The thing she was upset about though was that they then would not honor the sale and let her get the glasses in the frames she knew she would like. It is never fun to feel like you are being punished a bit for trying out a product.
Otherwise, many of us use them since we do look at computers all day and we have been quite happy. There are also films you can get to cover your screens and programs that will alter the display that can be quite effective. These options are usually cheaper than the glasses but more device specific. So if you are only looking at one or two devices on any given day. They may be easy to cover so as to reduce the blue light anyone using them is exposed to. If you look at many devices each day, the glasses may be the way for you to go.
Leave a Reply