Health or hype: Blue light blocking glasses
SANFORD, Fla. - We all do it. Spend hours scrolling, swiping, and reading. But all that time spent staring at our phones or computer screens is bad for our eyes.
In this week’s Health or Hype, we look at the effectiveness of blue light-blocking glasses.
Digital eye strain didn’t exist a hundred years ago. These days affects about half of us who are constantly staring at screens.
Chris LeBlanc is an advertising executive who spends countless hours in front of the computer. He says he makes sure to protect his eyes, "because I do know with the amount of time I spend on the computer, it does decrease my migraines or headaches. I find at the end of the day, I'm less fatigued."
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But does the science back it up?
We took that question to Dr. Ben Larson, an optometrist with Advanced Eye Care in Seminole County. He says it’s best to err on the side of caution.
"If there's a chance, which some studies say there's a strong chance, that we'll develop these eye-related, blue light-related eye diseases sooner, why not protect from it, it's easy to do, it doesn't harm your eyes anyway," Dr. Larson said.
Dr. Larson says researchers have found overexposure to blue light can lead to blurry vision, cataracts, and macular degeneration. He says wearing blue light-blocking glasses is also for your comfort. "It's kind of like Xanax for your eyes, it makes the distortion less and the high-energy light goes away, so you can work more comfortably," Dr. Larson said.
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Studies show using a filter that cuts 94% of blue light lessens the damage from exposure, but the doctor says buyer beware – prescription lenses are best.
"A lot of people when they get cheaper, blue light filtering lens, those cheap plastic lens distort their vision, and if they have a small prescription, they're trying to see with uncorrected visual acuity and that's not good either."
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The other thing to keep in mind, is the 20-20-20 rule. Dr. Larson says, "every 20 minutes, take at least a 20-second break and look 20 feet away, yeah."
He reminds us that our biggest exposure to blue light is the sun, so it’s important to wear polarized sunglasses with 100% ultraviolet protection when outdoors.