The claimEvidence B · meta-analysis
Blue-light glasses protect your eyes and help you sleep
The evidence
No evidence they protect the eyes or ease strain; bright light at night does delay the body clock, but dimming the lights and the screen beats wearing the glasses.
Why the claim spreads
The dry, tired eyes after long screen use are real, and bright light at night really does delay the body clock. Blue light happens to be the thing screens give off that has a name, so one pair of glasses takes credit for both.
The mechanism, in brief
Dry, tired eyes after long screen use are real, but the cause is often misplaced. This digital eye strain comes mainly from two things: looking at something close for a long time, which keeps the focusing muscle (the ciliary muscle) tense; and blinking much less often while staring at a screen, which lets the tear…
Sources (1)
- Singh, S., Keller, P. R., Busija, L., McMillan, P., Makrai, E., Lawrenson, J. G., Hull, C. C., & Downie, L. E. (2023). Blue-light filtering spectacle lenses for visual performance, sleep, and macular health in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (8), CD013244.