If there was one thing I wish I knew about back then, it was how much blue light can damage ones eyesight.
I’m a person who has worked on a computer from the day to night and each time I went to my eye doctor appointment, I would always get eyeglasses to adjust for my loss of eyesight each year.
But it wasn’t until the last few years that I have heard about blue light affecting eyesight.
For the most part, I have spent a lot on my eyeglasses but I never was told about the blue light protection that can be added to glasses. I thought I was paying for the best, non-glare, anti-fog, better lenses period.
But it wasn’t until I started hearing about it more, from operating systems adding the ability to adjust display settings for blue light and now eye doctors asking about computer use and starting a discussion of blue light.
Not just for computer use but also blue light in general outdoors.
According to Zeiss.com:
Too much light in the ultraviolet and blue-violet bands can damage the human eye. As well as leading to painful inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea, it can also cause damage to the eye’s crystalline lens (e.g., cataracts) and especially to the retina (macular degeneration).
From light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and xenon light to energy-saving bulbs and electromagnetic radiation from screens, all the “new light sources” that are designed to make our lives better and easier contain a higher proportion of blue light than the old traditional light bulbs. The different spectral composition of the light means that we are exposed to significantly more blue light than before. Could this be having a detrimental effect on our eyesight?
But it is important to remember that spending one hour outside on a normal overcast day exposes.
Blue light radiation from light sources or screens can be irritating or tiring for some people’s eyes. A blue filter can provide people with sharper vision: the different wavelengths of visible light are refracted in slightly different ways by the cornea and crystalline lens, so not all of them strike the same focal point on the retina. Some people will be familiar with these phenomena – for example, the fact that it’s easier to clearly see red at a distance and blue close up, or the way in which infographics with red, green and blue lines are more tiring to keep in focus than lines which are all shaded in the same or similar colors.
Some people find that light sources with a high proportion of blue light can make them feel more restless at night. When we find ourselves in a dark room or outside at dusk or at night-time, our eyes switch to a different mode of vision. In low_light the human eye shifts from green sensitivity to the high-energy blue spectrum. That means we perceive blue light more intensely, which can give the sensation of increased glare. This effect will be familiar to drivers who have been blinded by the glaring headlights of oncoming vehicles, especially those with modern xenon or LED headlights. Eyeglass lenses with a blue light filter can create more comfortable vision in these situations.
My eyesight is getting worse each year (blame it on the candles) and I’m glad I’m using glasses that prevent blue light for indoor use and outdoor use but I really wish we knew more about this back then.
But for those who work around the computer or work outdoors, definitely consider getting glasses that protect you from blue light.
