Should You Be Using Blue Light Glasses?

Published July 23, 2025 by Dr. Jordan Stanley

If you spend several hours a day (the global average is about 7 hours) staring at phones, tablets, or computer monitors, you may wonder if blue-light-blocking glasses will protect your (and your kids’) eye health. Board-certified Marietta ophthalmologist Dr. Jordan Stanley at PureSight Surgical gets this question often, and the answer might surprise you.

What Exactly Is Blue Light?

Blue light is high-energy visible (HEV) light in the 400-to-500 nanometer range, the same band that makes the sky look blue. Your screens emit it, but so does the sun—and sunlight delivers about 100 times more blue light than your laptop.

Modern LED backlights in phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and even “cool-white” household bulbs reproduce this same HEV band to create bright, high-contrast images.

Blue light gets a bad rap, but in natural doses, blue light:

• Helps regulate your circadian rhythm to keep you alert during daylight hours.
• Enhances color discrimination and sharpens visual detail.

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Myth vs. Evidence: Does Blue Light Harm Your Eyes?

The laboratory studies that show retinal damage after blue light exposure used blue light levels far beyond anything a screen produces (these are often the studies blue light glasses retailers cite to sell you on their product). Real-world clinical trials found no measurable difference in eye-health outcomes between people who wore blue-blocking lenses and those who did not.

In everyday life, the sun will expose you to more blue light output than your devices, so typical device exposure remains well below harmful thresholds. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) therefore does not recommend blue-light glasses for eye disease prevention.

The Real Culprit Behind Digital Eye Strain

Dr. Stanley sees that most “screen headaches” and other symptoms trace back to:

These factors, not blue light, drive the gritty, tired feeling you notice after a long screen session.

Related: How to Protect Your Eyes from Digital Strain: 5 Tips for Screen Lovers

Kids, Screens, and Blue Light: What Parents Should Know

Parents often worry that tablets and smartphones are “frying” their children’s eyes with blue light, but here’s what the science says: 

• No evidence of permanent damage. Like adults, children are not at risk for retinal injury or macular degeneration from everyday screen use. The AAO stresses that blue-blocking lenses are optional, not essential, for kids.
• The bigger threats are dry eyes and focus fatigue. Kids blink less when gaming or streaming videos, which dries the tear film, and their eye-focusing muscles work overtime on near tasks. This combination leads to headaches, blurry vision, and “tired eyes” by day’s end.
• Outdoor play lowers myopia risk. Multiple studies show that two or more hours of daylight activity per day can slow nearsightedness progression—something blue-light glasses cannot do.
• Sleep hygiene beats tinted lenses. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping screens out of bedrooms and powering down devices one hour before bedtime to protect circadian rhythm and overall eye comfort.

Blue light-blocking glasses for kids do not address the root causes of most screen-related concerns, so they are not the best first step in protecting eye health. Instead, set healthy screen-time habits, encourage outdoor breaks, and schedule regular pediatric eye exams.

Simple habits like dimming the brightness, logging off at least an hour before lights-out, and keeping room lighting low outperform pricey lenses for a good night’s rest.

What About Sleep?

Blue light late at night can suppress the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, but the dose matters: a Harvard experiment found that 6.5 hours of intense blue light pushed the body clock back roughly three hours; however, these conditions are far brighter and longer than a quick bedtime scroll.

Additionally, a 2024 review of 11 real-world studies reported no meaningful change in time-to-fall-asleep from looking at phones within an hour of bed, noting that common LED ceiling bulbs actually emit more biologically active blue light than most screens.

If you still worry, flip on your device’s free Night Shift/Warm Display setting: laboratory testing shows it cuts melatonin-disrupting radiation by up to 90%, while blue-blocking spectacles trim it by about 30%.

Are Blue-Light Glasses Harmful?

Not at all, although it’s important to understand there are more factors besides blue light (which we covered above) that are contributing to digital eye strain and other symptoms of screen time. So if you aren’t addressing each factor, blue light glasses may be a disappointment. If you already own a pair and feel they reduce glare, keep wearing them. Just know you’re paying for comfort, not medical protection.

When Blue-Blocking Lenses Might Make Sense

Most people probably don’t need a specialty filter for everyday scrolling, but there are a handful of situations where blue-blocking lenses can still earn their keep.

• Night-shift workers who must use bright screens under dim lights.
• Migraine sufferers who notice specific HEV wavelengths trigger pain.
• Gamers or designers who appreciate the subjective reduction in glare.

For everyone else, standard prescription or over-the-counter readers (with a quality anti-reflective coating) are usually enough.

About Dr. Jordan Stanley

Dr. Jordan Stanley is a board-certified Marietta ophthalmologist and glaucoma specialist who founded PureSight Surgical to deliver physician-led, transparent eye care in the greater Atlanta area. He offers cataract surgery, glaucoma management, medical eye exams, and vision-correcting procedures such as Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) Surgery and Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). 

To make an appointment with Dr. Stanley, please leave a message at 770-230-2020 or request an appointment through the Contact Us page.