Do blue light filtering glasses really work?

You might have noticed the ever-growing buzz around Blue Light Filtering Glasses. The fashion accessory with a secret health benefit… supposedly.

For those of us experiencing the daily grind of an office job, staring at a screen all day can leave us feeling pretty drained with tired eyes and a headache. Even if you’re just an instagram addict or in a Netflix binge, those bright rays omitting from our computer, TV, laptop, iPad or mobile phone screens leave their mark.

The blue light shining from our devices has been scientifically linked to sleep issues. Specsavers (we trust they know the truth right?) say on their website that “Blue light is short-wavelength visible light that is associated with more eye strain than longer-wavelength hues, such as orange and red” and we should dim the blue light on our screens to help fight the symptoms.

So what are the symptoms of eye strain?

If you experience discomfort around your eyes, headaches, painful or itchy eyes, difficulty focussing, dry or watery eyes, blurred or double vision, or an increase in your sensitivity to light then your screen time may be straining your eyes.

Taking the plunge

Being a long-term sufferer of headaches myself, and recently finding myself staring at screens, well for what feels like every waking hour, I gave these blue light filtering glasses i’d heard so much about a quick google. After my research, I ended up purchasing a pair from Quay Australia, advertised with the following:

Keep your eyes in the clear with our blue light lenses, featuring technology to assist with blocking potentially harmful (blue) HEV light from screens to help prevent headaches, blurry vision, and other symptoms of digital eye strain. Wear them when working on a laptop, watching TV, or scrolling the ‘gram to look good + feel good.

I loved the pink design, and although a little dubious about the actual effectiveness, I decided there was only one way to find out. So £38 plus delivery later and they arrived, complete with cute pouch!

I have now been wearing my new specs for 6 weeks whilst working at a PC, on my laptop or scrolling the ‘gram as Quay suggested. Blue light aside for a moment, wearing glasses definitely makes you feel smarter. There’s something about slowly removing your glasses before delivering a witty response which just makes you feel educated AF. Anyway, I digress, back to the filter.

The verdict

Whilst i have still experienced occasional headaches, wearing these glasses has reduced the frequency from almost daily to weekly (I have always suffered with regular headaches and migraines , so this is pretty great for me). Headaches caused by my eyes getting tired and straining to read text on the screen, are no longer an issue (except when i forget to wear my glasses during an epic Game of Thrones marathon).

During my 1 hour drive home from the office, I usually found my eye sight extremely blurry after a day in front of a screen, with difficulty focussing on signs. Wearing the blue light filtering glasses has definitely reduced this blurriness, and i can finally say goodbye to squinting (less wrinkles – yey!).

Since increasing my screen time about 1 month before purchasing these glasses, my eyes were watering a lot at the end of the day. At the time, I thought this was just tiredness, but since adopting my new specs I can safely say I am a panda no more!

So my verdict? I can’t say whether they are scientifically proven to work, but I myself have 100% experienced benefits from wearing my Quay Australia blue light filtering glasses. I will continue to wear them daily, and recommend giving them a go to any sufferer of eye strain.

If you are interested in learning more or ordering a pair for yourself, here is the link to the glasses I purchased. I hope you found this review useful, if you have tried and tested blue light filtering glasses, share your experience! Comment below or head over to our Instagram @sistablisstribe to tag us in your posts.