Gamer Glasses: Why You Need Them and Where To Find Stylish Ones
September 11, 2023 • 11:05 AM
Ever enjoyed a full night of gaming, only to find yourself with blurry vision or a headache, and then wondered why, after all that activity, you’re struggling to sleep? We’re here to explain exactly what’s going on there — and how you can solve the problem with gamer glasses.
Let’s find out what gaming eyewear is and why they’re just as essential in your gaming tool kit as your headset and gaming mouse. We’ll also help you understand what to look for in a pair of gamer glasses, and where to start shopping for them.
A good pair of gaming glasses might even help you take your game to the next level — literally.
What Are Gamer Glasses?
Gamer glasses are a type of eyewear specifically designed to protect your eyes — and, as it turns out, your sleep too — while you’re playing video games.
They help to reduce digital eyestrain and fatigue caused by glare and hours of staring at your screen, filter out blue light, and can correct your vision too if needed.
Video gamer glasses should also have great durability — in other words, they should be made to last.
Let’s be real. You don’t want a flimsy, easy-to-break pair of drugstore reading glasses… you need frames that can actually stand the test of time and give you access to a more vivid, enjoyable gaming experience. Because of this, we generally recommend gamer glasses that are made from flexible, long-lasting materials like acetate.
All these benefits keep you in great shape so you’re ready to deal with whatever the game throws at you.
The Components of Gamer Glasses
So what exactly makes a good pair of gamer glasses? Let’s break it down so you know what you’re looking for.
1. Blue Light Filters
You probably know by now that digital screens emit harmful blue light. Blue light is a high-energy wavelength and during the day, it can help us stay awake and alert. That may sound great for a long night of gaming too but there are drawbacks.
Blue light interferes with your body’s natural cycle of melatonin production. And since melatonin is the hormone that helps you fall asleep, you may find yourself lying awake for a few hours after you’re finally done gaming. That lack of sleep is definitely going to impact you the next day.
Luckily, advances in lens technology have given us blue light glasses. These block blue light from reaching your eyes, helping you to focus more easily when you’re awake and sleep better when you do hit the sack.
Some blue light blocking glasses for gamers have an amber tint and some have clear lenses. There are also other kinds of glasses available with tinted lenses, so always check the label to make sure you’re getting the blue light protection you need.
Note: Blue light blockers may be tinted but they’re not the same as sunglasses. So don’t expect your blue light glasses to offer you UV protection or your sunglasses to protect you from blue light.
2. Anti-Reflective Coating
By their very nature, digital screens give off a lot of glare — and that’s without taking into account any extra glare from the lights in the room where you’re playing. If you’re wearing glasses, that glare may be reflected in your lenses, making it more difficult to see clearly. Glare also affects the contrast between objects on your screen, forcing your eyes to work harder to distinguish between them. And before you know it, you have a bad case of digital eye strain.
That’s where anti-reflective glasses come in. Composed of thin layers of metal oxides, anti-reflective coating helps to reduce unwanted glare from your screen and any lights around you. It also allows more than 99% of light to reach your eyes rather than bouncing off your lenses, boosting your vision and further reducing eye strain.
As a side benefit, the anti-glare coating makes your glasses more smudge-resistant too. So thankfully, if you’re constantly adjusting them, less oil will transfer from your fingers to your lenses. If you do get your lenses dirty though, make sure you clean them correctly.
For a thorough clean, use a microfiber towel and a specialized glasses cleaning solution. When there are spots or smudges on your glasses, it can mess up your gaming performance, and this can be especially problematic if you play competitive esports.
Don’t let dirty glasses get in the way of your gaming experience — clean them regularly to keep your glasses in tip-top shape.
3. Vision Correction
If your eyesight is not what it should be, and then you go and add hours of gaming to the equation, you’re making yourself a prime candidate for eye strain. The last thing you need while you’re trying to focus on taking out your enemies is blurry vision or a headache. You might just find that correcting your vision completely transforms your ability to strategize and react in-game, giving you a competitive edge that you didn’t have previously.
Book a visit to your local optometrist to get your eyes tested and find out exactly what prescription you need for gaming glasses. Bear in mind that this may be different from the eyeglass prescription you need for driving or reading, as your eyes are operating at different distances for all these activities. You may also benefit from adding some magnification to your gaming glasses.
Your eye doctor will be able to advise you on the best prescription lenses for your vision needs — just be sure to mention that gaming is one of those needs. You may even be able to use your gaming glasses as normal computer glasses too.
Where to Get Your Blue Light Gaming Glasses
You’ll find the best gaming glasses from a dedicated eyewear retailer like Pair Eyewear. Pair’s eyeglasses are completely customizable, and it’s very simple to order them online.
Select Your Base Frame
Start by choosing a Base Frame from our men’s line or women’s line that suits your face shape. If you’re not sure about this, use our Virtual Try-On tool to test-run a couple of styles. You can also consult our Size Guide to check which styles are most likely to fit.
Choose a Lens Type
Your lens type will depend on your prescription, so be sure to get that information from your eye doctor beforehand. If you don’t need any vision correction at all, go with non-prescription lenses. Otherwise, you’ll likely be choosing between single-vision glasses or progressive (or multifocal) lenses. The other option is readers, but you probably won’t be using those for gaming.
Add Optional Extras
Next up, you’ll choose any optional add-ons. This is where you’ll select blue light filters to help protect your sleep. All Pair’s glasses come with an anti-reflective coating built right in, so you’ll automatically get that helpful anti-glare functionality.
Pick Your Top Frames
Then you get to select any number of Top Frames to customize your gamer glasses further. Top Frames attach magnetically to your Base Frames and can be switched out on the go. Choose one of our Best Sellers or go with a design from our range of collections, Limited Editions, or Collabs. If you like the idea of carrying a couple of Top Frames around with you, go ahead and add a Top Frame Case or Glasses Case to your cart.
Add Your Prescription
You can choose to upload your prescription immediately, do it later, or ask us to contact your eye doctor to get it for you.
Checkout
If you have a Pair gift card, you can enter the code for that on the payment page as part of the checkout process.
Pretty soon, we’ll be custom-making your gamer glasses to your exact requirements, and then shipping them off to you.
If you have questions about Pair’s products, add-ons, shipping, or any other concerns, visit our FAQ page or feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected].
Other Ways to Protect Your Vision While Gaming
Apart from investing in some good gamer glasses, it’s a good idea to pay attention to some other basic rules of eye care while gaming.
Keep Your Eyes Hydrated
Research shows that you blink less than normal when you’re working on a digital device, which can result in dry eyes. Drink plenty of water, try to blink more often, and if necessary, use eye drops to rehydrate your eyes.
Take Regular Breaks
Pause the game at regular intervals to look away from the screen towards the other side of the room. This gives your eyes a rest and changes your focus, so you’re less likely to suffer from eye strain.
Use an Anti-Glare Screen
Many new computer screens come with anti-glare functionality built in. If yours doesn’t, consider buying an anti-glare screen to help protect your eyes.
Take Your Game to the Next Level With Gamer Glasses
Long hours of gaming can take a toll on your eyes and your sleep quality. Glare and blue light emitted by your digital screen, plus any uncorrected vision issues, can result in headaches, blurry vision, dry eyes, and insomnia.
Luckily this problem is fairly easy to solve with a pair of gamer glasses from Pair Eyewear. This type of eyewear protects your eyes from glare, filters out blue light, and corrects your vision if necessary.
This leaves you free to up your game and triumph over your opponents at night — and still feel great the next morning.
Sources
Computer vision syndrome | AOA
Computers, Digital Devices and Eye Strain | American Academy of Ophthalmology