How To Test Blue Light Glasses

You’ve probably experienced digital eye strain at some point in your life. It’s a common problem now that so many of us look at phone and computer screens for several hours a day. That said, the blue light emanating from these screens can potentially impact your eye health, and using blue light-blocking glasses is one of the best ways to combat these effects.

If you’re interested in using blue light-filtering glasses, you need to know how to test them out to see if they work. In this post, we’ll look at how blue light computer glasses work and teach you how to perform simple at-home tests to determine their effectiveness.

What Are Blue Light Glasses?

Blue light glasses are specialized glasses that block blue light from reaching your eyes. They’re designed to help you avoid common problems caused by too much blue light exposure, such as dry eyes, eye strain, and more.

Additionally, blue light glasses can potentially support your circadian rhythms. Certain wavelengths of light that fall within 400 and 500 nanometers on the light spectrum can disrupt your natural sleeping and waking cycles, and blocking a large amount of blue light can help you manage these effects.

Are Blue Light Glasses Right for You?

If you have a high screen time — whether for work or personal reasons —blue light-blocking lenses might make a valuable addition to your eye care routine. In addition, if you already need prescription eyeglasses, you can upgrade to a pair with built-in blue light-filtering capabilities.

Blue light glasses might also be helpful if you’re having trouble sleeping at night and think your screen usage might be the culprit. As we mentioned above, blue light sources in the evening can interrupt your natural sleep cycle.

Finally, consider blue light glasses if you notice your vision gets blurry or your eyes get tired after using a screen. These are two common symptoms of digital eye strain, and they can affect just about anyone, not just folks who look at digital screens every day.

Ultimately, anyone can benefit from blue light glasses if they want to limit their exposure to potentially harmful wavelengths. While these lenses aren’t a cure-all for digital eye strain, they can certainly be helpful in the long run.

How To Pick Out a Pair of Blue Light Glasses

If you’ve decided that blue light glasses are right for you, it’s time to find a pair that meets your needs.

You can pick up glasses with blue light-filtering lenses from your optician’s office, but we recommend ordering them online instead. Ordering eyewear from Pair gives you more options and the ability to add extra features like anti-reflective coatings or light responsive lenses.

With Pair, you can customize your lenses and frames to perfectly match your prescription and personal style. If you need prescription glasses with blue light-filtering lenses, you can import the prescription information that you received from your optometrist directly into your Pair account, making it easy to order glasses that have the exact strength that you require.

In addition to simplifying the shopping process, we also make it easier than ever to find frames that you love. Our secret weapon is our Top Frames, which can turn any of our blue light glasses into a completely new pair.

Is It Possible To Test Your Blue Light Glasses?

There are several ways that you can try to test your blue light glasses at home, but you should keep in mind that at-home tests are not 100% reliable.

The most accurate and comprehensive method to test if your glasses block blue light is with a spectrometer, which splits light into wavelengths and measures their intensity. However, you likely don’t have one of these gadgets at home — they’re only used in labs and are very expensive.

Thankfully, when you order blue light glasses from Pair, you can rest assured that we’ve used high-tech tools like a spectrometer to verify that we’re shipping you the best blue light glasses you can get.

All of this said, here’s how you can take a look at the effectiveness of your blue light glasses at home:

Do: Try a Reflection Test

A reflection test is a simple way to determine whether your glasses filter blue light rather than other wavelengths, such as green or violet light. This test certainly isn’t error-proof, but it will give you a sense of the quality of your glasses.

All you need to do is look at the color of the reflection in your lenses. If the reflection is blue, you can rest assured that the built-in blue light blockers work.

It’s common to perform the reflection test on cheaper, lower-quality glasses and find that the lenses block green or purple light instead. While the coatings on these glasses can still block glare, they’re no more effective at filtering blue light than clear lenses.

Don’t: Test Your Glasses With a Blue Light Pen

Some lower-end manufacturers claim you can test their lenses with a specialized LED light pen. Sadly, this test is a scam.

The pens used in these tests don’t emit the right wavelength and aren’t accurate representations of the blue light from a screen. Skip this test and steer clear of any seller who claims that it works!

Do: Test With a Screen

If you’re wondering whether your blue light glasses are working, one of the best ways to tell is to test them out with a digital device — but bear in mind that this test only works for blue light glasses with a very yellow tint to their lenses.

You can perform this test by looking at a bright blue object and a black object on your screen simultaneously. While wearing blue light glasses with tinted lenses, these objects should both look dark gray.

Do Blue Light Glasses Need To Be Tested?

Testing blue light glasses at home can give you peace of mind, but it isn’t always necessary. If you buy your blue light glasses from a trustworthy source like Pair, you can count on the rigorous testing our glasses undergo before we ship them out.

High-quality blue light lenses may be more of an investment than a cheaper pair, but the lower-end option is often much less effective.

What Sets Pair Apart

Our blue light-filtering glasses are a cut above the rest. Here’s what sets us apart from others:

• Subtlety: While many blue light glasses feature yellow lenses that look cheap and unappealing, ours have an undetectable tint. You get the same filtering power without anyone wondering why your lenses have a yellowish hue.

• No Added Cost: While others upcharge for anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings, our blue light lenses include these features at no added cost. All our pairs feature anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, UV-blocking, and hydrophobic coatings.

• Made In-House: Others outsource the creation of their lenses, which can lead to quality issues. We make ours in-house with help from our team of opticians.

• Quality Control: Others have varying levels of quality control, which can mean that your lenses aren’t as effective as they should be. Our glasses undergo 100% in-house quality control — at Pair, we care.

When Should You Wear Your Blue Light Glasses?

Once you pick up a pair of blue light-blocking glasses from Pair, you can wear them anytime. However, they’re most helpful when exposed to a significant amount of blue light. That might mean when you’re in direct sunlight, watching TV, working on your computer, or texting on your phone.

We also recommend wearing blue light glasses when using a digital device at night. If it’s family movie night and you don’t want to disrupt your sleep cycle, your pair of Pairs can come in handy.

Wrapping Up

Pair is your go-to source for blue light-filtering glasses in various styles. Our Base Frames make it easy to find the exact look you love and switch it up based on your mood. Explore our options today!

Sources:

Computer vision syndrome | AOA

Blurred Vision: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments | Cleveland Clinic

Computer Vision Syndrome | Cedars-Sinai

Circadian Rhythms | NIH