Blue light filtering glasses for computer use and improving sleep

Anecdote: I bought slightly yellow very expensive tinted computer glasses. Cant say they made any difference.

I also had an add-on ( cant remember the name ) that would “yellow” the computer screen during evenings to minimize blue light. It irritated me so much that I uninstalled it in the end.

Those beautiful gaming colors completely ruined.

Personally removing pretty much all my social media accounts and only reading news in the morning, before noon, has been the greatest improvement on both my mental health and my ability to fall asleep.

Blue light avoidance, meh.

I think the health experts behind this science(tm) of blue light bad, is going to end up with their papers in the garbage next to “fat free food is better for you” and “bottle milk is encouraged over breast milk”.

I had no luck with blue light filtering glasses, the biggest impacts for myself were setting a very aggressive level of filtering on night mode (which admittedly does a similar thing to the glasses), and keeping general light levels in the house as low as possible once the sun was setting.

Low screen brightness, limiting the number of screens (3 to 1) and very low ambient lighting helped me a lot more than the glasses did.

Maybe there is something helpful for you in here?

https://sleepeducation.org/healthy-sleep/healthy-sleep-habit...

I used to have trouble falling asleep and a doctor recommended I wear sunglasses an hour or two before bed. I eventually got a pair of these orange safety glasses that are supposed to block blue light.

https://www.amazon.com/Uvex-Blocking-Computer-Glasses-SCT-Or...

Anecdotal, but I do notice a distinct difference in my ability to fall asleep quicker and the quality of sleep vs when I don't wear them. I notice I have more of that drowsy, "can't keep my eyes open" feeling towards the end of the night when I'm wearing the glasses.

I think the answer is "maybe" but retailers are acting like the answer is a definite "yes" -- they help sleep. I think it comes down to the individual

Here's an article you might want to read.

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/are-computer-...

Also, I know that our bodies are primed to produce Melatonin(sleeping hormone) at sundown. I've never read anything about it but I would guess sunglasses will produce the same effect and help you get to sleep. Has anyone read anything in regards to that?

Blue light glasses are patently unscientific, your eyes actually need to absorb lots of blue light during the day. It’s just a way for eyeglass companies to make more money.

The science around blue light is being strongly questioned. https://theconversation.com/theres-no-evidence-that-blue-lig...

I noticed no impact from LensCrafters which had this coating. Not did I see any evidence that the coating was there (I expected some evidence). YMMV but we did not get it again…

I've tried blue-light glasses and it didn't stick with me. What worked for me was reducing my monitor brightness (50 percent or lower) as well as reading on my Kindle before sleep.

Most monitors are too bright in general and so just reducing the brightness for all day use was helpful to me.

I empirically tested these types of glasses over the past 18 months with my own n=1 study. There are a lot of confounding variables pretty much wrecking my shit (a regrettable period of "crunch time" at work, sometimes drank too much last year, other times didn't get the usual exercise in, a few times I had a specific problem space where if I woke up I would churn that specific problem set in my mind and not easily regain sleep).

Nevertheless, I got a conclusion applicable to me, after trying 10-12 pairs of these things: these glasses really do absolutely improve my sleep, but only:

a.) if I buy the orange ones which block 99.9% of blue and green light, which have the side effect of making everything look really shitty (like Flux/Night Shift on steroids, delicious tangerines look like sour lemons)

b.) if I put them on 2-3 hours before bed (I set a calendar alarm)

Since around the time I had kids (10 years ago) I've had trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep.

I lost the orange glasses for a few days (actually, 4-year-old absconded with them to play "robot") and my sleep problems returned immediately. (Note that I use screens in the evening and night, even though it is mainly reading email and books at those house, I read books on iPad Pro including in bed, so I am bathing my eyes in blue LED light).

I ordered anther pair, and my sleep (both subjectively, and as tracked by my phone and watch (to the limited ability of those devices to track one's sleep)) went back to okay/good immediately. I mean literally the second orange glasses arrived from Amazon in the morning, and I slept well that night.

Anecdata, but life-changing for the anecdoter (me). I'll never be without such glasses again, until such time as science devises something even better.

NOTE: I tried like 8-9 pairs of the clear normal-looking kind that purport to block blue light. These had no measurable effect at all on my sleep. It was only the color-warping orange ones that worked.

UPDATE: I forgot to add that these glasses block blue/green light so strongly that they have the side effect of substantially dimming ALL light. So it is entirely possible that wearing regular sunglasses might have the same effect — I haven't tested that.

[1]: The first ones I bought: https://spectra479.com

[2]: The replacement ones I bought after my kid stole the first ones: https://www.yamamoto-kogaku.co.jp/safety/product/detail.php?...

Most of the glasses sold for blue-light blocking don't block nearly enough of the blue light to make a meaningful difference. I think the main thing is to reduce the amount of blue light that you're exposed to at night.

My first purchase for night driving was some orange safety glasses, but these blocked out too much light to be safe. I now have yellow safety-style glasses that I use for driving. These knock out enough of the blue to turn the bad blue-white headlights green. They say overx.com on the side... Ahh: https://cocoonseyewear.com/shop/safety/lightguard-medium-fit...

My bulbs around the house are mostly low-blue. I have three light switches in my bedroom. I replaced the 1995-ish 5000k fluorescent tube hidden above the closet with a 6 or 8-bulb fixture from a thrift shop. I have a mix of red & orange single-color bulbs in this, which renders to a pleasant amber color. My bedside lamp has a Feit red bulb, which is a nice deep red. The fan has halogen bulbs on a dimmer switch, for the occasional time that I care about color rendition, or need a little extra light in the room. They're too blue full power, but I hardly ever use them.

My bathroom has halogens on a slider dimmer switch, which starts at the lowest light output. It's nice & yellowish at night.

The kitchen is lit with Citizen 2200K COB (Chip On Board) [0] LEDs on top of the cabinets. The terrible hangy-lights, that someone put in to replace the old canister lights over the kitchen stove, now have Philips Amber 2000K LED bulbs. There are some 2700K lights in the kitchen too, but I try not to use those.

I also use https://JustGetFlux.com to reduce the blue light from monitors...

tl/dr: I use yellow glasses for driving, day and night. Most of my lights around the house are red, orange, and amber bulbs, and all the important fixtures ahve dimmer switches. I hope to keep my vision for a while longer.

[0] https://led.cdiweb.com/products/detail/clu0481212c422al1k3-c...