If you’re here you would have heard of blue light glasses and their benefits and I’m positive you have some of the following questions -
Do they improve your sleep? Do they stop headaches? If so, how do they work? This list goes on.
If you give this a 5 minute read then you’ll know everything you need to know about blue light glasses.
Let's start here,
What are blue light glasses and why is everyone wearing them?
So Blue Light glasses are glasses (obviously haha) with a special lens that blocks the specific blue light wavelength (between 450/495nm).
By blocking this specific wavelength the glasses come with a bunch of benefits, including stopping and treating headaches, improving your sleep and productivity.
To explain exactly how they work we need to dive into what blue light is.
What is blue light?
Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum -- what the human eye can see as the colour blue.
It is important to mention that the biggest producer of blue light is the sun, however, nowadays we also absorb blue light from many different sources such as screens, LEDs, headlamps etc.
Blue light is vital to our circadian rhythm (our sleep/wake cycle).
What's a Circadian Rhythm?
Our circadian rhythm basically tells our body when to release sleep hormones such as melatonin, it's our bodies sleep/wake cycle.
It "tells us" when to go to sleep and when to wake up through a bunch of physical and mental processes and is controlled by a small part of the brain.
It is often referred to as the "body's clock".
Recent Harvard research has discovered that our circadian rhythm is directly effected by blue light (if you think about this it makes a lot of sense, explained below).
We are supposed to go to sleep when the sun sets and wake up when the sun rises.
When then sun sets, our body stops absorbing blue light from the sun and our body starts to produce sleep hormones such as melatonin and we go to sleep.
That makes a lot of sense right?
So where do blue light glasses come into it?
Nowadays, once the sun sets we are still absorbing blue light from other sources such as our screens (Netflix, computers, social media etc).
Our body is tricked and thinks we’re supposed to be awake, hence we do not prepare for sleep and we are left counting sheep when we try and sleep - blue light also reduces the quality of our sleep but that's for another time.
Once the sun goes down, if we block blue light with blue light glasses our bodies circadian rhythm stays in a natural flow and we can sleep like a baby (literally).
It's simple math,
Use blue light glasses to block blue light = sleep faster, better & healthier.
That's how blue light glasses improve our sleep, they help regulate our circadian rhythm.
Now, how do blue light glasses stop headaches & migraines?
Earlier we mentioned the specific nanometer of blue light (between 450/490 nm).
Recent Harvard research discovered that this nanometer of blue light can travel up a specific neural pathway leading to the brain.
When blue light travels up this pathway and reaches the brain it can aggravate and cause headaches.
It makes sense, think about when you have a headache, the last thing you want to do is stare at a bright screen or the sun.
By blocking the blue light, you’re stopping this harmful blue light travelling up the pathway and stopping/preventing any headaches & migraines.
Summing it up
I could go on & on about the benefits of blue light glasses but these are normally the two main subjects that people want to understand.
So, we’ve told you how they improve your sleep by regulating your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle), and how they stop your headaches & migraines.
Do I also have to mention how cute they are? Or is that a given haha.
I hope this makes sense and if you have any questions, then go ahead and click the contact page and ask away!
We’re always happy to help.
Thanks,
Sophie