Do Blue Blocker Glasses Work?

Posted by: Caster Eye Center in Smile/Lasik

The marketing campaign for blue blocker glasses is very strong. And who doesn’t get fatigue from working all day at a computer? But do blue blocker glasses really work? Are the benefits they claim fact or fiction?

Unfortunately, there is no evidence that using blue blocker glasses at the computer lessens eye fatigue. No evidence — at least none that has any scientific validity. Of course, there are many people who use blue blocker glasses and swear that they lessen their eye fatigue. We can listen to their stories, but maybe something else is helping with their eye fatigue. Reading glasses, from your doctor or the drug store, will often greatly help with eye fatigue at the computer, as will periodically resting your eyes for a few seconds.

However, when you test and compare fake blue blocker glasses (glasses that look like blue blocker glasses but do not cut out the blue light) with the real product, roughly the same number of people say that their fatigue is relieved. And frankly, we would not expect much of an effect from cutting out the blue light, since computer screens emit very little of the highest energy blue/violet light and very little ultraviolet light.

What Does Help Your Vision?

If you are approaching forty years old or older, then reading glasses and frequent rests from near focusing will help your eye fatigue a great deal. Every ten minutes, move your gaze away from your computer to something farther away, such as across the room or out the window, for ten seconds. 

This allows your eye muscles to rest. And for those over forty, LASIK laser vision correction can often help with your near vision and eye fatigue.