I had a text message from a friend recently asking what I thought of ‘blue light glasses’. OncI had a text message from a friend recently asking what I thought of ‘blue light glasses’. Once I had established that he wasn’t suffering from any issue that needed the intervention of an optometrist and found out exactly what he meant by ‘blue light glasses’ (cheap frames fitted with coated plano lenses), I gave him my opinion.
I said that while there was no strong evidence to show the levels of blue light emitted from smart devices and the like could do any damage, there was a small chance that there could be of some benefit for improving sleep – I felt I was sleeping slightly better when I first tried the lenses when they first came to market early in the last decade. For what it’s worth, I don’t have a blue light coating on any of my current frames.
The glasses in question were found in a promoted advert on Facebook by a ‘brand’ specialising in spectacles with blue light filtering lenses. As you might expect, the comments were
vomit-inducing hyperbole, filled with testimonials of the life-changing £25 glasses. Supposed professional photographers were extolling the benefits of the glasses during ‘epic editing sessions on the Mac’. I wanted to ask if they had recalibrated their monitors to account for the nasty brown hue of the lenses, but thought better of it.
I have touched on this lost opportunity for optics before. It had the opportunity to control the messaging from the outset, but over-promised and under-delivered. Now every man and his dog offer these cheap blue light glasses, capitalising on lockdown and increased working from home. A test of how well these glasses actually filter blue light would probably reveal some worrying results, but it might look like sour grapes now.
Despite the current ill-feeling within the sector, optometry’s stock with the public has risen during the pandemic, so it’s important to maintain that momentum and avoid any more blue light fiascos.e I had established that he wasn’t suffering from any issue that needed the intervention of an optometrist and found out exactly what he meant by ‘blue light glasses’ (cheap frames fitted with coated plano lenses), I gave him my opinion.
I said that while there was no strong evidence to show the levels of blue light emitted from smart devices and the like could do any damage, there was a small chance that there could be of some benefit for improving sleep – I felt I was sleeping slightly better when I first tried the lenses when they first came to market early in the last decade. For what it’s worth, I don’t have a blue light coating on any of my current frames.
The glasses in question were found in a promoted advert on Facebook by a ‘brand’ specialising in spectacles with blue light filtering lenses. As you might expect, the comments were
vomit-inducing hyperbole, filled with testimonials of the life-changing £25 glasses. Supposed professional photographers were extolling the benefits of the glasses during ‘epic editing sessions on the Mac’. I wanted to ask if they had recalibrated their monitors to account for the nasty brown hue of the lenses, but thought better of it.
I have touched on this lost opportunity for optics before. It had the opportunity to control the messaging from the outset, but over-promised and under-delivered. Now every man and his dog offer these cheap blue light glasses, capitalising on lockdown and increased working from home. A test of how well these glasses actually filter blue light would probably reveal some worrying results, but it might look like sour grapes now.
Despite the current ill-feeling within the sector, optometry’s stock with the public has risen during the pandemic, so it’s important to maintain that momentum and avoid any more blue light fiascos.