Blue-light “blocking” or filtering eyeglasses may not be easing your eye strain from computer use or improving your sleep.
That’s the findings of a new review of clinical trial evidence.
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Researchers searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and found no short-term advantages associated with using the blue-light filtering glasses.
“It is also currently unclear whether these lenses affect vision quality or sleep-related outcomes, and no conclusions could be drawn about any potential effects on retinal health in the longer term,” said senior author Laura Downie in a press release. “People should be aware of these findings when deciding whether to purchase these spectacles.”
A cornea specialist at Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio told CNN that it’s not the blue-light emission from our devices that is causing eye strain.
“Most people have computer vision syndrome, which is related to sitting at a computer screen for a long period of time,” ophthalmologist Dr. Craig See told CNN.
Those symptoms include dry eyes, watery eyes, blurry vision, light sensitivity, burning or itching eyes and difficulty concentrating or keeping your eyes open.
Presbyopia — which is farsightedness caused by changes in the lens of the eye as you get older — can further contribute to eye strain at the computer.
“I don’t typically recommend blue-light filters to my patients,” See told CNN. “There’s no reason to think that blue-light filtering is harmful, other than the cost associated with adding it to your glasses. The takeaway here is that it may not be doing as much as we were hoping.”
The 17 randomized controlled trials that were analyzed were short-term trials. No longer-term studies have been conducted.
The review found no significant negative side effects from using blue-light filtering lenses, but only mild reports of discomfort or headaches that are associated with wearing spectacles of any kind.
“The amount of blue light our eyes receive from artificial sources, such as computer screens, is about a thousandth of what we get from natural daylight. It’s also worth bearing in mind that blue-light filtering lenses typically filter out about 10-25% of blue light, depending on the specific product. Filtering out higher levels of blue light would require the lenses to have an obvious amber tint, which would have a substantial effect on color perception,” said first author Dr. Sumeer Singh.
So what can you do if you’re experiencing eye strain from computer use?
Get regular eye exams to make sure you don’t need a new prescription, make sure you’re at least an arm’s length from your screen, and if you’re using a laptop consider getting a larger external display, See told CNN.
It’s also important to take regular breaks.