We’ve all heard that blue light from our tablets and phones is ruining our retinas, but is it really the boogeyman it’s made out to be? As we get older, we tend to spend more time on screens, and the marketing for blue light glasses is everywhere. Let’s look at the actual habits and routines involved here.
First, consider your habits. Most discomfort comes from ‘digital eye strain’—blinking less while staring at a screen—rather than the light itself. Adjusting your environment by reducing glare and using warmer screen settings at night is often more effective than buying expensive specialty glasses.
For your daily routines, try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Finally, tracking your symptoms is key. If your eyes feel dry or gritty, it’s likely a moisture issue, not a light-spectrum issue. Most optometrists now agree that the sun provides far more blue light than your iPad ever will.
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I fell for the blue light glasses craze last year. Spent eighty dollars on a pair and didn’t notice a lick of difference. Turning down the brightness on my Kindle helped much more.
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My doctor actually told me the same thing. He said the ‘strain’ is just because we forget to blink when we’re focused. It’s good to see this posted here.
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I agree about the glasses, but I did find that focusing on nutrition made a bigger impact for me. I started taking iGenics (got mine here) a few months back because it has those AREDs-2 ingredients, and my night vision feels much sharper now. It’s been a better investment than the glasses were.
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The 20-20-20 rule is a lifesaver. I set a timer on my phone now because I get so sucked into my crossword puzzles. My eyes don’t feel nearly as tired by 8 PM.
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Good to know! I was just about to order a pair for my husband.
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Does anyone else get that ‘gritty’ feeling after reading for an hour? Is that just dryness or something else? I’m 64 and it’s getting worse lately.
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To the person above—it’s likely dry eye. Try some preservative-free drops. This post was very helpful, thanks for clearing up the blue light myth!
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