What is A Blue Light Filter?
Have you heard of a blue light filter? If not, you’re not alone. Blue light filter glasses, blue light filter for pc, and blue light filter for iPhone are new technologies on the market. The name says it all–these tools filter out blue light from your screens. By why would you want to filter out blue light and what is a blue light filter anyway? This article will go in depth into the phenomena as well as recommend a variety of blue light filters to help you determine whether a blue light filter is what you need to stay healthy this year.
A blue light filter is relatively straightforward. It’s usually a piece of plastic that is manufactured to keep blue light from being able to travel through the plastic. Sometimes the plastic has a special coating or specific tint or color to it that keeps the blue light from coming through. Products usually come in two main forms. There are films and sheets that you can put over your iPhone or computer screen to keep blue light from coming out, and you can also put on blue light glasses to filter out the light.
Why Have a Blue Light Filter
The need for a blue light filter has been growing alongside the explosion of digital screens that now make up the bulk of American life. As more and more people began using smart phones and computers for many hours a day, there have been more reports of issues with vision. Eye strain, eye twitching, and general visual fatigue increases the more time you spend staring at a screen.
In fact, there is now a diagnosable disorder called computer vision syndrome. Computer vision syndrome is a diagnosis that includes eye strain, eye pain, and other issues. It can strike both adults and children. If kids are spending hours on the computer at school or after school, they can also get diagnosed with computer vision syndrome.
Eye strain and pain due to computer use is a serious issue. Research has shown that anywhere from fifty to ninety percent of people who work at the computer screen end up with serious issues.
What Causes Computer Vision Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disease that has a lot of similarities to computer vision syndrome. Basically, both of the diseases are caused by repetitive motions. Just like your hands follow the same path over and over, and this causes issues in your wrists, when you’re staring at a computer screen, your eyes follow the same paths over and over. And this causes serious strain and pain in your eyes.
When you’re looking at a computer, you also need to focus and refocus constantly as you look at different tabs on your computer screen. This also causes eye strain. And every time you look at something other than the screen and then return to the computer, your eyes have to refocus.
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But there’s another reason why staring at a computer screen can be so difficult for your eyes, and it’s because of the way light and your computer screens work. Computer screens emit light that causes the eye to have to work even harder to focus. Computer screens can add flicker, glare, and contrast, which can dramatically change the way you interpret visuals on the digital screens.
These issues can affect kids and adults equally, but as you age, your eyes can have even more trouble staring at screens for hours on end. This is because your ability to focus both near and far can be impacted by age, and the lenses in your eyes can become less flexible than they were previously. Because of this, your eyes can experience many difficult symptoms as you age that make it more challenging to stare at screens for hours on end.
Symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome
The symptoms of computer vision syndrome can depend on the difficulty you’re having with your eyes. Blurred vision is one issue that arises and is the sensation of your visual field being blurry. It indicates that your eyes are having difficulty focusing. Double vision is another issue, where instead of seeing one unified image, you experience seeing the image in front of your face playing out double. Dry, red eyes are another symptom of computer vision syndrome. Dry red eyes can indicate that you are experiencing extreme fatigue in your eyes.
Another surprising symptom of computer vision syndrome are headaches, neck, and back pain. This is because your optic nerve is connected to many other nerves in your brain and neck. So when your optic nerve is under stress, you can experience pain and tension throughout your head, brain, and neck.
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Why a Blue Light Filter
Because of all of the vision issues that can arise when you stare at computer screens for too long, there are many researchers and manufacturers who are developing solutions. Of course, many people are required because of their jobs to stare at computer screens throughout the day, so it’s important that we develop strategies to reduce the strain on our eyes and improve our overall eye health.
This is where a blue light filter comes in. There are a variety of factors that can increase the chance of developing computer vision syndrome due to overuse of digital screens. But one of the primary issues is the blue light that is emitted by the screens. Exposure to blue light, for one thing, can make it more difficult for you to fall asleep at night. Insomnia is actually a huge issue facing adults in the United States, with 27% of people having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep most nights. And 68% of people had trouble falling asleep at least once a week.
Scientific evidence is demonstrating that the blue light emitted by the digital screens can be a big reason why it’s difficult to fall asleep at night. Furthermore, when blue light is bright, it can cause more glare and flicker to show up on your computer screen. And as discussed earlier, this is one of the biggest contributors to computer vision syndrome and general eye strain.
For all of these reasons, using a blue light filter on your computer or cell phone screen is a great way to reduce tension and stress on your eyes. Blue light filter helps filter out blue light. There are also blue light filter glasses, blue light filter for iPhones, and blue light filters for PC.
Understanding Blue Light
To truly understand why a blue light filter could be helpful to you and how to utilize it, it’s a good idea to develop a firm understanding of how light works with your eyes in general.
Even though most light appears simply white, truly visible light includes the full range of colors in the rainbow. Sunlight, for example, contains red, orange, yellow, green, and blue light rays—and all of the colors that come in between those colors.
These light colors appear on a spectrum, with wavelengths that range from 700 nm to 380 nm. The longer the wavelength, the less energy that is contained in the light ray, and the shorter the wavelength, the more energy the light ray contains.
So where does blue and even violet light fall on this spectrum? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the wavelengths blue and violet light are shorter than the other light rays, which means that they contain more energy than the other rays.
It’s important to remember that blue light is found throughout your life. Sunlight is a primary source of blue light, and when you are outside you are being exposed to blue light. But doctors have been noticing that because of the amount of blue light that is emitted from our computer and other digital screens, it’s having an effect on our eyes and vision.
One of the reasons for this is because the eye is not very good at blocking blue light from reaching the retina. Almost all blue light that comes in contact with the eye ends up reaching the retina. There is a limit to the amount of blue light exposure to maintain healthy vision. One reason is because laboratory tests have proven that when you are exposed to more blue light you can end up damaging the light-sensitive cells in the retina. And this damage is precisely what causes macular degeneration.
And because the blue light is such a high energy light ray, it also scatters more easily when it comes in contact with the eye. This means that the eye has to work harder to focus when it is perceiving a large amount of blue light. This extra energy that your eye has to use to focus is what leads to digital eye strain and potentially even computer vision syndrome.
Finally, if you are someone at risk for cataracts, or you have recently gotten surgery for cataracts, you will want to reduce your exposure to blue light significantly. Special eyewear is developed to protect your eyes and reduce the chances of damage to the retina and overall vision loss. When you get cataract surgery, your practitioner will replace your lens, which has become cloudy, with an intraocular lens. Some of these lenses automatically include blue light filters to ensure you have great eye health for years to come. If not, you’ll want to make sure you have great blue light filter glasses to prevent any further damage to your vision.
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How to Filter Out Blue Light
Given the growing body of evidence that blue light can be damaging to your eyesight, there are plenty of reasons why you may want to purchase a product that can protect your eyes, especially if you spend many hours a day looking at computer screens.
There are a few options for you if you’re seeking to filter out blue light. Basically, you can put the protection over your eyes with blue light filter glasses, which can ensure that no matter what you’re looking at, you won’t be exposed to blue light rays. Or, you can put a blue light filter on your pc, mac, or smart phone, so that blue light will always be prevented from being emitted by your screen.
Blue Light Filter Glasses
There are a few awesome options on the market today if you’re looking for great blue light filter glasses. One is Eye Love Blue Blocking Glasses. The Eye Love model stands out among other blue blocking glasses because they often don’t have much style to them and don’t always protect from UV light. These glasses have a stylish appearance and transition lenses, meaning that you are always protected from UV light whether you are inside or outside.
There is evidence that by using the blue light filter glasses, you’ll be able to protect your eyes, sleep better at night, be more energized in your daily life, and reduce fatigue in your eyes. Another really exciting feature of the Eye Love Blue Blocking Glasses is that when you make a purchase of their glasses, part of the proceeds of the sale is donated to an eye clinic in Jamaica that donates eye examinations to those in need.
Another great model when you’re looking for blue light filter glasses is the Cyxus Blue Light Filter Computer Glasses. These glasses are completely transparent, making sure that it’s always easy for you to see whether you are inside or outside. But the lenses of these glasses completely block out blue light from reaching your eyes.
These glasses are completely waterproof and shock resistant, made of sturdy plastic. They are also very easy to clean, lightweight, and difficult to shatter. They also make sure that the lenses are resistant to oxidation, meaning that the lenses won’t turn yellow over time. These glasses are fashionable and provide you with a great stylish look, making them an excellent choice if you’re looking for blue light filter glasses.
Another great blue light filter glasses model on the market today are J + S Vision Blue Light Shield Computer Reading/Gaming Glasses. Like the models above, these glasses are stylish and popular. They have a slight yellow tint with black frames, making them an excellent choice for individuals who are interested in protecting their eyes from high energy blue light.
These glasses can improve your performance on computer related tasks because they make looking at computer screens less stressful on your eyes. This can also reduce fatigue around your eyes, making it easy for you to get your work done.
The J+S glasses include a low color distortion lens, so that you can still enjoy the wide range of visible light and making it much easier for you to focus on the task at hand. This reduces your exposure to high energy blue light. You’ll want to order these glasses to filter out blue light and reduce the damage to your eyes that is caused by prolonged exposure to blue light.
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Blue Light Filter for PC
If wearing glasses isn’t up your alley or is not possible for you for other reasons, you can still filter out blue light from your computer screens. Another option is purchasing a blue light filter for PC. The VizoBlueX anti-blue light filter for computer monitor. The product comes in a variety of sizes to fit the dimension of your computer. You can purchase one that is 19-20 inches, 21-22 inches, 23-24 inches, etc. The sizing goes all the way up to 55 inches.
This filter has multi-layer protection, keeping harmful blue light from being emitted from your computer screens, as well as hazardous UV spectrum light and even HEV light. This product can prevent all of that light from leaving your computer screen while ensuring that all of the colors of your screen, whether it has a LCD or LED monitor, is fully visible.
The blue light filter for PC is very easy to install. Once it is placed on top of your screen, you can rest easy knowing that blue light is being blocked from your vision. This can give you all the benefits of a blue light filter with very easy installation. All you have to do is attach the blue light filter onto your screen. It ensures that the picture of your monitor is still perfect while decreasing the most harmful blue light from reaching your eyes.
Another great benefit to these filters is that they make it possible for you to write on your screen using dry erase markers. If you have a touch screen, though, you won’t want to use this particular blue light filter for pc. This is a great product to make sure that you don’t end up with over exposure to blue light because of your computer.
Blue Light Filter Iphone
If you’re looking for a way to prevent blue light from your screens, you’ll also want to consider how to protect your vision from your smartphone screen. The SmartDevil for iPhone 8 Plus/7 Plus is the product you’re looking for if you want a blue light filter iPhone. The anti-blue light screen is designed to fit the iPhone. If you have a different type of cell phone, there are other blue light screen filters that are designed to meet your specific needs.
It’s very easy to install the blue light filter onto your phone and can usually be completed in less than five minutes. The easy installation of this filter makes it easy to prevent the dangers of blue light to damage your vision. Another great benefit of installing these filters onto your phone is that when you install the filter onto your iPhone, the filter can also make the screen of your phone scratch resistant.
The screen also includes hydrophobic and oleophobic screen coating, which can prevent sweat and oil residue from coming onto your phone. The SmartDevil company is dedicated to creating high quality screen filters that meet the needs of their customers. The screen protector is of a light yellow tint that can serve many functions for the phone user. It can protect your eyes, prevent UV light from being emitted from your phone, reducing the negative effects of blue light exposure.
SmartDevil provides its customers with a broad range of choices when you’re looking to select the right blue light filter for your iPhone screen. For one thing, you can select screen protectors of various colors. You can have a clear screen protector, a purple screen protector, and even a yellow screen protector. The various types of screen protectors allows for different features to be added on to the function of the screens, including offering high definition, and the ability to add privacy functionality to your iPhone.
Why Filter Out Blue Light: The Bottom Line
There’s a reason that there are so many more companies creating products that are meant to filter out blue light: there’s a growing scientific consensus that exposure to blue light can damage your eyesight. Of course, we are naturally exposed to blue light by the sun, and there are certainly healthy amounts of blue light that we can expose our eyes to. But because of the high energy involved in blue light, when we stare at computer or other digital screens for hours per day, there’s a higher chance that we are going to have over exposure to blue light.
This overexposure is thought to contribute to many difficult eye conditions, including eye strain, eye pain, and perhaps most damaging–trouble getting a good night’s sleep. A recent New York Times bestselling book has reignited the conversation around why sleeping is so important to human beings. Truly, there is no better way to prevent disease and reduce stress and tension than getting a good night’s sleep every night. This is why reducing your exposure to blue light can be so important. Understanding that reducing your blue light exposure could help regulate your sleeping patterns and prevent you from having trouble going to sleep at night is an excellent reason to explore the products available on the market today to filter blue light.
A Great Blue Light Filter
To determine which of the blue light filter products will be most beneficial to you, you should consider what your primary goals are. The first decision you have to make is whether to put the filter over your own eyes, using blue light filter glasses, or to put the filter over your digital screen, using a blue light filter for pc or blue light filter for your iPhone.
To make this choice, consider your personality and routine. Would you like to have complete control over how much blue light you are exposed to on any given day? If so, then you should consider purchasing the eyeglasses that are used to prevent blue light. That way you can always be in control over the amount of blue light you are exposing yourself to, no matter what you are looking at.
On the other hand, if you tend to be distracted by wearing eyeglasses or you tend to lose eyeglasses because you have to constantly take them on and off, you might be better off selecting a blue light filter that can go directly onto your smartphone or computer screen. That way, you can simply rest assured that your eyes are always protected from blue light exposure whenever you are looking at your screen.
If you’ve never used a blue light filter before, you’ll be amazed by how instantly the relief in your eyes can be experienced. When you put your blue light blocking glasses on or install the filter onto your computer screen, you’ll feel the muscles in your eyes immediately relax. Many individuals who have purchased a blue light filter have experienced dramatic relief in their eye strain symptoms as well as reported having better sleep habits. This leads to an overall increase in energy alongside many other great benefits.
Blue Light Filters and You
So if you’re on the fence about whether or not to purchase a blue light filter or you’re simply not sure whether blue light is affecting you negatively, go ahead and experiment with it. See what happens when you look through screens that are filtered for blue light or see if you can borrow a friend’s blue light blocking lenses. Every person’s vision is different, and it will be affected in different ways. But once you understand what a blue filter is and how it can help you, you’re on track to reduce damage to your eyes and make it easier for you to enjoy your time working at computer screens.
