Blue light: How to protect yourself?

Blue light has been around us since our birth, but there is a difference in form and intensity. It affects us differently if it comes from a natural source and otherwise from monitors and displays of digital devices. That is why it is important to explain what blue light is, what are the consequences of its excessive exposure and what is the prevention from it.

What is blue light?

Blue light is a natural part of our lives and thanks to it our body recognizes day and night, produces and regulates sleep hormone melatonin, supports or attenuates alertness and attention. Some of us are exposed to excessive blue light, which can be harmful and dangerous to our eyes. 

What are the sources of blue light?

Blue light shines on us not only from natural sources but especially from electronic devices such as our smartphones, computer and tablet monitors or TV. Of course, the difference is whether you look at the monitor for an hour or the whole day at work, because watching TV briefly or working with electronic devices for a bit has no measurable impact on your eyesight.

According to The Nielsen Total Audience Report: Q2 2017, a typical user spent up to 8 hours and 58 minutes on a display device in 2017. Some jobs require day-to-day computing, but during a break, employees look at their smartphone screens again. In this way, the eyes simply do not rest and are constantly stressed.

What causes blue light? 

Digital devices emit a specific type of blue and purple light. Excessive exposure of these short-wavelength colours can have a negative impact and cause several health inconveniences, which we will explain below. Prolonged exposure to blue light can damage your eyes. 

Here are some more examples:
• Dry eye syndrome (burning, itching and cutting in the eyes, blinking problems, impaired vision, but also excessive tearing)
• Sleep problems (lack of sleep or poor sleep may lead to other complications such as excessive fatigue, irritability, indigestion, irregular heartbeat, depression, concentration problems)
• Eye sore (pressure in the eyes, cutting in the eyes, blinking problems, burning and redness of the eye)
• Headaches (short-term but also long-term headaches, pulsating pain around the temples, the tension in the neck, sometimes headache leads to nausea and vomiting)
• Blurred vision (eyes have difficulty focusing on near but also distant subjects that appear blurry)

How to protect yourself against blue light? 

We would like to introduce a few preventive tips to help you avoid the problems mentioned above. When working with digital devices, follow the rule of 20-20-20. This rule tells you to take at least a 20-second break from looking at the display every 20 minutes and look at an object 20 meters away from you. Your eyes will relax, so will your brain, and will be able to respond better.

Other tips on how to protect yourself from blue light are:

• Prescription glasses with protection against blue light (special layer, which is added to the lenses of your glasses)
• Special computer monitors with Low-blue light technology (a technology that reduces blue light penetration and reduces eye strain and fatigue. Meanwhile there are a few brands such as Samsung, BenQ or Asus that offer Low-blue light technology)
• Special foil (you attach the protective foil to your digital devices to prevent blue light and protect your eyes)
• Apps (which adapt the brightness of your monitor to eliminate blue light, such as f.lux, eye saver, eyeblink, redshift, iris. However, these apps may distort colours but can be set to multiple modes depending on the conditions in which you work.)

Computer glasses without diopters?

In eyerim, we know how important is to protect yourself against harmful radiance from the screens. Until now, the process of ordering computer glasses was more complicated and expensive, but now we have decided to change everything and come up with a novelty - a limited collection of computer glasses without diopters, which is stylish and high-quality protection against blue light. These glasses without diopters and with acetate frames filter up to 35% of blue light between 400 and 450 nm, thus increasing the comfort of your vision while working in front of the screens. In addition, the lenses provide 100% UV protection, are anti-reflective, scratch-resistant and, thanks to the superhydrophobic layer, they get less dirty and are easier to clean. A huge advantage is that you can have them at home within 24 hours, which is a real rarity in the optical world. Whether you like modern accessories or you prefer the classics, everyone can choose from these glasses. 

Do not underestimate the influence of blue light

In this article, we definitely did not want to frighten you, rather just to highlight the, sometimes underestimated, issue. Take care of your eyesight even when you are not wearing prescription glasses and give your eyes enough rest. If you wear prescription glasses and work on a daily basis with a computer or a smartphone, we recommend adding a blue light protection layer to protect your eyesight.