Are blue-light blocking glasses good for eye health and sleep quality? No, new study suggests
- Blue-light filtering lenses are used to prevent screen-induced eye fatigue and improve sleep quality, but a recent study analysis may contradict this
- The study looked at a number of earlier small-scale studies that compared blue-light filter lenses with regular lenses and found no advantage
Glasses that filter blue light from screens probably make no difference to eye strain, eye health or sleep quality, a new study suggests.
Blue-light filtering lenses, also known as blue-light blocking spectacles, have been increasingly prescribed or recommended, often by optometrists, since the early 2000s, the researchers say.
They looked at the effects of the lenses compared with non-blue-light filtering lenses for improving visual performance, providing protection to the retina – the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye – and improving sleep quality.
They analysed data from 17 studies from six countries, with the number of people in individual studies ranging from five to 156.
The period of time over which the lenses were assessed ranged from less than one day to five weeks.