{"id":32632,"date":"2023-08-18T01:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a36d44e9-2e3b-4d67-a9cf-0feef14c6cd4"},"modified":"2023-08-18T01:38:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T23:38:25","slug":"no-blue-light-blocking-glasses-dont-really-work-and-now-scientists-have-proven-it","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/no-blue-light-blocking-glasses-dont-really-work-and-now-scientists-have-proven-it\/","title":{"rendered":"No, blue light blocking glasses\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0really work \u2013and now scientists have proven it"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Noa Leach\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 18 August 2023 at 23:01 PM<\/p>

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Many of us assuage our guilt over maxed-out screen times and scrolling before bed by wearing blue light<\/a>-filtering glasses. But do they make a difference? Probably not, say scientists in a new review of available evidence.<\/p>

Blue light is a prominent part of the visible light spectrum<\/a> but is also emitted by artificial sources like phones and computers.<\/p>

Optician-recommended blue light filters have been rising since the early 2000s. Marketing claims suggest that they reduce the eye strain and sleep<\/a> disruption caused by excessive blue light.<\/p>

But scientists from the University of Melbourne, Australia as well as the University of London and Monash University, Australia, have reviewed 17 randomised control trials to find out whether blue light filters really make any difference.<\/p>

The answer? They found that it\u2019s likely that the lenses in fact make no difference to eye strain or sleep quality caused by screens whatsoever<\/a> \u2013 at least in the short term.<\/p>

The team also found no evidence that the lenses protect against damage to the retina (the part of your eye which takes light and turns it into signals for your brain). This is partly explained by the fact the original studies did not evaluate this.<\/p>

\u201cThis review is fairly damning,\u201d said Prof Andrew Przybylski<\/a> from the University of Oxford \u2013 who was not involved in the review. \u201cIt provides the public an opportunity to pause and ask themselves if they really should be changing their behaviour or buying things to address what they fear are problems of the digital age.\u201d<\/p>

According to the researchers, the amount of blue light our eyes receive from artificial sources like phones and computer screens is only around one-thousandth of what comes from natural daylight. What\u2019s more, the lenses only block out 10-25 per cent of blue light.<\/p>

\u201cFiltering out higher levels of blue light would require the lenses to have an obvious amber tint, which would have a substantial effect on colour perception,\u201d said first author Dr Sumeer Singh<\/a>.<\/p>

Senior author Prof Laura Downie<\/a> of the University of Melbourne added: \u201cPeople should be aware of these findings when deciding whether to purchase these spectacles.\u201d<\/p>

However, since the review only looked at short-term studies with timescales between one day to five weeks, more research is needed to determine the lenses\u2019 effectiveness in the longer term.<\/p>

Singh called for \u201chigh-quality, large clinical research studies with longer follow-up in more diverse populations\u201d to get a clear answer on whether there are any benefits of blue light filters \u2013 and whether these apply to everyone.<\/p>

But if you already wear them, don\u2019t worry. The studies didn\u2019t find any negative side effects of wearing these lenses beyond those usually associated with wearing glasses, such as discomfort and headaches<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>