Data compiled by the Vision Council in America for its 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report has shown that 65% of more than 10,000 Americans surveyed had reported symptoms of digital eye strain, the physical eye and bodily discomfort felt after spending two or more hours in front of a digital screen.
Digital eye strain is still high on the agenda for the Vision Council.
In early January, the organisation launched the new report at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas to raise awareness of the latest in computer eyewear technology. The 150,000 attendees and 3,500 exhibitors at the show were taught additional ways for individuals to minimise digital eye strain.
The report also highlighted the problem of children and blue light. Children are increasingly exposed to prolonged technology use, the report said. In addition to using devices for play, children are using technology during school and for homework. The Vision Council said eye care professionals in the US had already reported seeing an increase in accelerated cases of myopia in children, which it said could be due to the increase of near-range activities, such as using a digital device.
‘Many people think suffering with digital eye strain is unavoidable when using technology, but it doesn’t have to be,’ said Mike Daley, CEO of The Vision Council. ‘The optical industry has responded to the shift in digital habits and has developed lens technology to protect eyes from blue light, glare and other environmental stressors.’
Daley was right; lens manufacturers have been quick to develop coatings which filter the amount of high-energy visible (HEV), otherwise known as blue light, from entering the eye. Focusing on digital device usage, many lens companies marketed their products to the ‘digital generation’ – the type of person who would use a computer at work during the day and a tablet at home in the evening. Others focused on the well-being aspect of the blue light issue, highlighting problems with sleep patterns by using digital devices in the evening.
Digital innovation
[CaptionComponent="2180"]But the makers of digital devices was also quick to respond, with applications such as F.Lux that controlled the amount of HEV light that the devices emitted and screen protectors, like those from Ocushield, which carry out the same task via a filtered overlay on the screen. Neither method has been widely adopted by consumers, but that may be about to change.
Apple’s next iteration of iOS, 9.3, will have a feature built in called Night Shift, which will adjust the colour balance of the iPhone or iPad’s screen after sunset. The software will use the phone’s internal geolocation technology and its internal clock to adjust the screen’s blue and white tones and replace them with warmer orange and red hues. Apple did not respond to Optician’s request for further details.
Apple cited research suggesting that this helps with sleep after using electronic devices. ‘Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep,’ said the company.
Since Apple sells what are generally the most popular phones and tablets, the addition of Night Shift could well make a dent in sales of blue light filtering lenses once people become aware of a potential blue light problem – with the solution already sitting inside their devices.
But optometrist and founder of Ocushield, Dhruvin Patel, believed the addition of Night Shift could actually increase sales of blue light products thanks to increased awareness. ‘Apple’s night mode is primarily solving the problem – which numerous publications show – of our sleep cycles being affected when we view our digital devices. It’s great the tech giant is validating scientific research and making this available to the mass market,’ he said.
Leading authority on blue light, Professor John Marshall of UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London told Optician that he thought the new Night Shift feature was a gimmick. ‘The emissions in the blue spectrum are so low from tablets and mobile phones that they are of no concern to safety authorities such as myself or John O’Hagan [of Public Health England].
‘If blue emissions are broken down on a wavelength basis with measurements of spectral emission in each of the wavelength domains, then the problem is even less of an issue. Individuals are going to get far more stimulus from their environment or domestic light sources, especially their LEDs. I wouldn’t purchase devices with a spectral filter as I think this is protection against a non-existent problem, similar to radiation screens incorporated in early visual display terminals. I think this is totally unnecessary and a gimmick.’
Alain Riveline, corporate senior VP of global marketing for Essilor, was slightly more circumspect. ‘What we know is that certain parts of the blue light spectrum can damage the cells in the retina, but there are many different sources which emit blue light in different ranges. The vast majority are not digital devices, but everyday items such as low energy lightbulbs and the sun. What is unclear are the full details of how Apple’s software and smartphone software will work and what part of the blue light spectrum will be filtered.’
Mixed messages
[CaptionComponent="2181"]The information on the full effects of HEV light exposure have varied greatly and it would be easy for the high street optician to be left confused by the different performance claims of lenses and the results of different studies.
But it’s also the public who are at risk of receiving mixed messages. Late last year, an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) panel told Boot Opticians that adverts promoting its blue light filtering ophthalmic lenses had to be changed due to misleading claims (News 28.10.15). In the adverts, Boots claimed that many modern gadgets, such as LED TVs and smartphones, as well as energy-saving light bulbs, emitted a certain type of blue light that could cause a person’s retinal cells to deteriorate over time.
A study and a literature review were submitted in support of the claim that blue-violet had a negative effect on the eye. Boots said that its lens coating blocked 20% of the harmful blue light and permitted 96% of blue-turquoise light and 98% of visible light through to the eye.
The ASA said that while the advert acknowledged other factors that could affect people’s eyes, it considered that consumers would interpret it to mean that by filtering out harmful blue light in particular, they could reduce the deterioration of their vision later in life. It added that only evidence from full trials conducted on humans would be potentially sufficient to support the claims.
Carl Zeiss also points towards studies in which scientists think that the blue light hazard may be a significant contributor to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), although the company admits this is controversial.
‘It appears that the aging retina is less able to repair and protect itself against the toxic oxidative products caused by short-wavelength blue light exposure,’ said a Carl Zeiss whitepaper which accompanied its Duravision lens product series.
It continued: ‘In addition to illumination devices, our technology has developed white light displays to display visual information. The latest displays in smartphones, tablets, television and computer displays are not only higher-resolution than their predecessors, they also are much brighter and emit a lot of blue. The shift toward brighter and bluer artificial light sources has combined with changes in social behaviour causing many people to spend more time during the evening using such devices. Many experts are sure this trend is responsible for an increasing prevalence of sleep disorders.’
So have lens manufacturers been responsible in their marketing of the benefits of filtering blue light? Riveline admitted that more could have been done: ‘There has been confusion in the market about the need to filter blue light and the damage it can do. It is part of our role to explain the benefits of the products and how they fit into everyday life and digital life.
[CaptionComponent="2182"]‘Essilor has launched a new product, EyeZen, that is adapted to the wearer’s visual needs when he or she moves from smartphone to tablet to laptop – with very short reading distances for smartphones – which generates eyestrain and back and neck aches.’
‘Optical lens coatings are currently being marketed towards professionals and VDU users ages 18-60,’ added Patel.
‘I genuinely believe anyone under the age of 21 would greatly benefit from blue light filtering technology such as Ocushield, which reduces up to 35% of harmful blue light emitted from digital devices. We can’t always dispense glasses to non-spectacle wearers or children for instance, so Ocushield makes perfect sense to allow the whole family to be protected by having the filter on the family iPad for example.’
The vision and physical conditions that blue light filtering lenses can help alleviate continues to grow. Damage to cells, sleep disturbance and now bodily discomfort have all been listed in recent years, but if clear messages aren’t sent out to practitioners and consumers alike there is a real risk of the ophthalmic lens industry not keeping up with the pace of technology developments.