Marathon work days in front of a computer screen have become a fixture of many professions.
Maybe you’ve experienced the uncomfortable or downright painful effects that screens can have on your eyes?
Fatigue, headaches, dry eyes and eye strain are the most common complaints we’ve heard from our screen-locked friends.
Worse than any of those problems, however, are screen time’s more insidious side effects on your sleep cycle.
By providing a constant source of blue light way outside of sunlight’s usual hours, our computers and phones and televisions can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep and feel well rested.
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To combat the negative effects of our always-on lifestyles, we’ve become dedicated fans of blue light blocking glasses. Instead of having to power down at sunset every day, we’ll just slip on a pair and let their filtering keep our sleep cycles intact.
Finding the right blue light glasses for ourselves was a little bit of a trick, though — so we decided to share the products of our research and testing in this guide.
Do yourself a favor and read through our recommendations to discover which blue light glasses are right for your lifestyle.
Quick Take
Short on time? Here’s our top pick for the best blue light blocking glasses you can buy right now:
Of all the blue-blocking glasses we’ve tested, Felix Gray consistently provided the best fit and striking good looks thanks to their deep customization options.
Read on for more info and the complete list…
Blue Light Glasses Buyer’s Guide
If you’re new to the whole idea of blue light glasses, take a look over the following topics to familiarize yourself with how they work and why you should get a pair:
Do Blue Light Glasses Work?
Without getting too deep into the science of it, blue light blocking glasses promise to alleviate eye strain and regulate your sleep cycle by filtering out certain wavelengths of light.
Blue light falls right in the middle of the UV light spectrum, and is emitted by almost every source of light — the sun, your computer screen and light bulbs all give off some blue rays. So why is it important to limit your exposure to this sort of light?
The generally accepted explanation is that our eyes are naturally quite proficient at absorbing this wavelength of light, and pretty awful at filtering it out.
While this contributes to wakefulness during daylight hours, it can also become a danger to our health when we’re constantly exposed to blue light sources outside of “natural” sunlight hours.
While there are a limited number of studies around blue light glasses (often delivering conflicting results), our personal observations of their benefits have been backed up by other in-person testers, too.
In short, while there’s no scientific consensus on blue light glasses’ effectiveness, individual users have consistently reported excellent benefits from their use.
Who Can Benefit From Blue Light Glasses?
With screen time now being estimated to take up half of our waking hours, there’s a good possibility that blue light glasses could be beneficial for everyone. And since there are a wide variety of options for any budget and style preference, it’s hard to imagine a reason not to at least give them a try.
People whose jobs require significant amounts of screen time are particularly at risk of sleep disruption from blue light, as are those who keep their televisions and computers running late into the nighttime hours.
If you’ve ever struggled to fall asleep after a long day sat in front of a computer, blue light glasses are absolutely worth considering.
How to Use Blue Light Glasses
Ease of use might be our favorite thing about blue light blocking glasses. All you’ll need to do is set an alarm for yourself half an hour before sundown, and start wearing them as the day’s natural light fades away.
Just be warned that because you’re not exposing yourself to blue light’s excitatory effects, you may end up feeling tired earlier than usual — listen to this feeling, and you may get deeper and more restful sleep right away.
Our Recommendations
Here are our recommendations…
1. Felix Gray (Best Overall)
When blue light blocking glasses first became available on the market, you could count on them being three things: orange, bulky and unattractive.
Additionally, they were rarely available as prescription lenses, so eyeglass wearers were out of luck.
Not a very pretty picture. Thankfully, companies like Felix Gray are turning all of those negatives around.
Of all the blue blocking glasses we’ve tested, Felix Gray’s consistently provided the best fit and striking good looks thanks to their deep customization options.
First, you’ll choose from glasses for “optical, sleep or sun” — Gray’s way of dividing everyday wear glasses, nighttime-specific colored lenses or tinted sunglasses that are great for working outdoors.
From there, you can choose from a huge variety of fits, materials, shapes and colors to dial in your perfect look. And yes, they’re available in prescription lenses, too.
Pricey but not overpriced, Felix Gray really does produce top-notch blue light glasses that will please even the pickiest of fashion-conscious tech users.
2. FEIYOLD Retro Style Glasses (Top Budget Pick)
Maybe you’re still feeling a bit skeptical about whether blue light glasses are really all they’re cracked up to be.
You don’t want to make the investment in a pair of Felix Grays without seeing for yourself that blue light glasses really work for you.
That’s where something like FEIYOLD’s retro style blue light glasses comes in. Super affordable and admittedly generic in style, you can score two pairs of these glasses for a fraction of the cost of other big name glasses.
They’re far from being high fashion, but honestly that’s not where this budget pick excels. If you’re looking to test the waters or keep a pair of blue blockers around for casual nighttime use — without putting a strain on your wallet — these glasses will definitely do the trick.
3. ZeroUV Sunglasses (Best for UV Protection)
Blue light blocking sunglasses might seem like an odd choice. After all, aren’t you supposed to get all the blue light that you can during daylight hours, and only reduce it after sunset?
While this is true for many people, some are so sensitive to blue light that it can even disrupt their sleep schedule if they spend too much time in direct sunlight.
We like ZeroUV’s blue light blocking sunglasses’ classic horned rim frame, wide arms and gradient tint. They’ve quickly become our favorite driving glasses for the evening commute, giving a head start on winding down after a long day working at a computer.
If you’re not a huge fan of the amber lenses, ZeroUV offers a similarly styled pair in light yellow, too. Both have UV blocking properties as well, making them great for everyday wear all year long.
4. GAMEKING Ultra Clip-On Glasses (Best Clip Ons)
If you already have prescription glasses that you enjoy, you might not be so enthused about paying for another whole pair of prescription lenses with blue blocking capabilities.
As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” — so why not just add blue light blocking to your favorite pair of glasses?
GAMEKING, despite their somewhat goofy name, produces our favorite clip on blue light blockers. Available in two styles with distinct shapes, they’re an affordable way to transform any pair of prescription strength glasses into blue blockers.
As easy to use as sliding them over your favorite glasses, these clip-ons might be the easiest way for anyone with visual corrections to enjoy the benefits of blue light glasses. To ensure their fit on a variety of glasses, we had three of our bespectacled friends clip them on; all reported a nearly perfect fit.
5. KLIM Optics (Best Reading Glasses)
Specifically designed for nighttime reading on your computer or tablet, KLIM Optics’ blue light glasses filter an impressive 92% of the light wavelengths that are most difficult for your eyes to adjust to.
Their deeply yellow-orange tinted lenses aren’t our favorite look for everyday wear at the office, but these glasses’ effectiveness and potency was almost immediately noticeable.
Think of Klim’s glasses as a step up from the clunky, oversized orange shades that started the blue light blocker trend — still a little bit on the nerdy side, but now slim, lightweight and comfortable.
They’re a great option for people who spend a lot of time in front of a screen, thanks to their enhanced filtering capacities.
The Choice Is Yours…
Though the verdict may be out from scientists on just what exactly makes blue light glasses work, our personal experiences have been nothing but positive.
And with stylish, affordable and customizable options like the ones on this list, there’s little reason not to try them out and see for yourself.
You can always let us know in the comments about your experiences with blue light glasses, as well as any questions you might have.
For those with smaller or narrower faces, Kliik is a great brand designed for that, for men as well as women: https://www.kliik.com/