Do blue light glasses work?
It’s been a long time since my last post. Nearly three years! It’s hard to comprehend the speed of which the time flashes by right in front of your eyes. Since this is my personal space and not the type of website where a huge number of followers demanding updates, I tend to only write when I have something to say and also as a form of diary for my own benefit as well. Not to say in the past three years I have not come across things worth saying, but there is no pressure to update this site so… Anyways, cutting to the chase…
The never-ending corona pandemic forced us all to re-evaluate many things in life. Working from home also became a big thing as a result specially for the type of my work, which before had to be done behind close doors due to NDAs and copyright protections, it was a big deal. I don’t think I was the only who thought this won’t last long and didn’t invest in buying proper equipment for working from home. For nearly a year I worked from a very uncomfortable chair thinking buying a better one would be a waste since we will go back to office soon, and considering my life style of relocating every year or so leaving a lot of furniture behind. It did however, gradually dawned on me that there is no end in sight and slowly started to revaluate my equipment and improve what was needed to protect my health, and sanity!
One of those changes came into form of using the so called ‘monitor glasses ‘or ‘blue light glasses’ which is basically a yellow filter cutting the blue light radiated from displays we glue our eyes to all day. I have been very hesitant of them for two reasons in the past; one is due the work I do and the need to pay close attention to colour accuracy which means having a yellow filter on top didn’t seem like a good idea! Second, I did not even think it will be highly effective and it’s one of those things that you can’t really figure out by reading internet reviews and have try for yourself. Eventually I decided to give one a go and use in times when I don’t need to be cautious of the colour accuracy of an image.
There are loads to choose from with prices starting as low as $10 shooting up to $100 range. I picked somewhere in between with focus on design and comfort which led to MELLER glasses.
Does it work?
Let’s answer the most obvious question! Do they do anything? After using them for several weeks I am inclined to say yes! They help with general tiredness and of the eyes by reducing them around 20-30% I feel. I came to this conclusion by comparing the days without using them and the general eyes tiredness levels at the end of the day.
The Design
There is nothing unique about this design. The transparent body and semi round frames provide a generic template that kind of works on various types of faces. The frames are too big for my liking but since the usage is to cover the monitor in front of you the bigger the better, I suppose.
Comfort
This is the area where they fall short. Despite them being relatively light, they do leave deep marks on the nose even only after a couple hours of use. For days when I was using them for prolonged duration, I had to resort to putting a cut piece of tissue to take the edge of.
Cost/Value
Was it more comfortable I would have said it’s a good buy for around $50, but lacking that for me it should seat somewhere on $30 range.
Will I use it when I go back to the office?
If it was more comfortable yes, but this pair I might only use when I’m coding and in short interval before they make their presence felt on my nose!
Why not use a software to replicate the yellow filter?
Most OS are coming with built-in night mode which is basically the same thing! So why not just use that? The simple answer to that for me is these glasses will cut the blue light uniformly around you not just the monitors and provide a more even viewing experience. Maybe I’m a little too sensitive to colour temperature so I appreciated having a more even ‘yellowness’ everywhere.
