Experts Explain Why You May Not Benefit From Wearing Blue-Light Glasses During the Day

Whether you love or hate them (or love to hate them), digital devices are part of our everyday lives. And now that people are increasingly working from home, we probably spend the same amount of time on screens as we do off, if not more. While blue-light glasses have become a popular solution for dealing with tired eyes, there are some questions about whether they're actually effective — or worse, if they could inadvertently cause harm.

When you think of blue light, you probably only think of the glow coming from your screen, but there are other sources. The greatest source of blue light is the sun, and some exposure is essential for overall good health, Margaret Liu, MD, an ophthalmologist who runs her own practice, San Francisco Eye Institute, with the Pacific Vision Foundation, told POPSUGAR. Dr. Liu explained that blue light helps keep us awake and alert during the day, in part by inhibiting the production of melatonin, a hormone that's essential for sleep.

Of course, as the day goes on, that can become a problem. "Exposure to blue light at night also suppresses the secretion of melatonin," Jonah Berman, OD, FAAO, a medical advisor for LensDirect, told POPSUGAR. Because of this, looking at screens before bed could interfere with your sleep. There is some research to suggest that wearing blue-light glasses — which are designed to reduce the amount of blue light from digital devices — just before bed can help improve your zzz's.

The better question is probably whether they're doing you any good. "The benefit of wearing blue-light glasses is controversial, and there is limited evidence that they help improve symptoms of digital eye strain," Dr. Liu said. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has also said that special eyewear for computer use is not necessary. However, both Dr. Liu and Dr. Berman explained that wearing blue-light glasses during the day is not actually harmful to your eyes, so if you already own a pair, you don't need to worry that they're doing any damage.

That said, "there are more significant contributing factors to digital eye strain and difficulty sleeping than blue-light exposure, and there are other more effective ways to address these issues," Dr. Liu told POPSUGAR. Blue light itself has not been proven to be harmful or cause digital eye strain. Most eye strain is instead linked to how we use screens (or more accurately, how we overuse them).

Blue-light glasses aside, there are other simple ways to keep your eyes healthy, even if you spend most of your days looking at screens. Here are a few.