Do you get a headache after staring at your monitor for hours at a time? Computer glasses might help. Here's how to pick a pair that works best for you, along with some of our favorites.
I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).
The more time we spend at home staring at screens, the more vulnerable we are to eye strain. You've probably already heard of blue light and how it can hurt your eyes. Maybe a pair of blue light blocking glasses even caught your attention. But it's important to understand that you have lots of options for reducing eye strain when staring at screens beyond just getting new lenses. Here's what you should know about blue light and some of your choices for reducing your exposure to it.
On the most basic level, blue light is exactly what it sounds like: light that's blue. That's not the full picture, though, and this is where light and color theory comes into play, along with concepts like color temperature, Planck's Constant, and the black body radiation curve. Without going too far into the weeds, you simply need to understand one fact about light: The color white isn't universal.
There is no singular white, but a whole range of visible light that counts as white. Depending on the lighting conditions and what is radiating and reflecting light, white light can appear very yellow (warm) or blue (cool) in color. For instance, the light coming from an incandescent LED light bulb is warmer than the light coming from a computer monitor. This effect is called color temperature and is measured in kelvin (K).
What we perceive as white light shifts along a range of about 2,700K to 7,000K. Confusingly, warmer light has a lower color temperature than cooler light, with the almost fiery glow of tungsten hitting around 2,800K and overcast sunlight hitting about 6,000K. Computer monitors typically set white at a very cool temperature to emulate natural sunlight, close to 6,500K. That means the light coming from your screen is quite blue; you can notice this difference if you compare a web page with a white background to a warm light bulb.
Blue light is often cited as the culprit for eye strain and even eye damage, so, naturally, the solution should be to warm that light up before it hits your eyes.
Here's where it gets tricky: claims from manufacturers of blue light blocking glasses that don't necessarily hold up to medical scrutiny. Essentially, blue light can't directly damage your eyesight. The American Academy of Opthalmology(Opens in a new window) notes that ultraviolet radiation can damage eyes but that computer monitors and other screens don't emit that kind of radiation. The whites are cool, but they aren't harmful. In fact, the AAO doesn't recommend any special eyewear(Opens in a new window) for computer use.
This doesn't mean you should simply ignore the effects of staring at a screen all day. While the radiation might not hurt your eyes, fixating on a powerful light source a few inches or a few feet from your eyes for long periods can cause eye strain(Opens in a new window) . Your eyes can become dry, irritated, or blurry and you can even get headaches when you look at screens for hours on end. Blue light blocking technology can help reduce that strain by making the light appear more soothing and less bright.
The AAO recommends the 20-20-20 rule; every 20 minutes, you should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eyes a break. It's a good habit to get into, but it isn't always realistic and it isn't the only thing you can do to help your eyes.
I sometimes get light-sensitive headaches and I've found that tinted lenses can help reduce their frequency. For that, blue light blocking glasses are very useful. They warm up the light, blocking out a bit to give your eyes a rest. Their real value is relieving eye strain, not the promise of simply blocking blue light.
Below are products that can help alleviate screen strain on your eyes (as well as warnings for some we don't recommend). We also cover a few software solutions that can help reduce your exposure to blue light.
Amazon's Echo Frames (now in their second generation) are a somewhat unique concept in the blue light blocking category. By default, they have plain, clear lenses; blue light lenses are an extra $20. The main purpose of the Echo Frames is to function as Alexa-enabled headphones you happen to wear on your face.
The Echo Frames use small speaker drivers that direct sound into your ears (just like the Razer Anzu Smart Glasses below) and enable you to use the glasses like a set of wireless headphones. They also support hands-free Amazon Alexa voice control; simply speak to the voice assistant through the glasses as if they were a smart speaker.
It's a fun idea, but they simply don't sound very good. Add the fact that you need to pay even more for blue light lenses and the Echo Frames probably aren't worth your investment.
Gunnar is known best for its blue light blocking computer glasses that target gamers. If you go to major video game events like PAX, you've probably seen a pair.
Gunnar offers a variety of frames and tint types, including the slight Clear lens that blocks 35% of blue light and doesn't tint colors too much; the more intense Amber lens that blocks 65% of blue light; and even transition lenses that stay tinted indoors and get darker like sunglasses when you're outside. These glasses are available with or without a prescription. If you're farsighted, though, know that standard Gunnar glasses have a very slight magnifying factor that can be a bit disorienting.
We've reviewed a few Gunnar glasses and each pair we've tested has been nicely made, sturdy, and comfortable. They can get a bit pricey, especially if you get prescription lenses, but they're quality glasses.
Even memory and computer peripheral companies are getting in on gaming glasses. HyperX's Spectre Gaming Eyewear comes in four different frame shapes and multiple colors, with a very slight tint that cuts out blue light just enough without skewing colors terribly. They're made well and are available with prescription lenses.
Jins is a Japanese glasses company that makes a variety of blue light blocking lenses. There are three Jins Screen lens treatments: Jins Screen Daily Use (formerly Jins Screen and Jins Blue Light), Jins Screen Heavy Use (formerly Jins Blue Light Pro), and Jins Screen Heavy Use (formerly Jins Blue Light Night).
The regular Jins Screen Daily Use models feature a very subtle tint and Jins Screen Heavy Use glasses opt for a slightly stronger, greenish tint that blocks more blue light and is intended for heavy screen use. Jins Screen Night Use pairs offer the heaviest tint and are made for people who typically view screens in dark environments, such as at night.
Jins frames are exceptionally crafted, which, along with Japanese manufacturing, accounts for their high prices. They're good glasses if you're willing to splurge.
The Razer Anzu Smart Glasses do more than block out blue light: They're also sunglasses and headphones! These glasses feature interchangeable sets of blue light and sunglass lenses, along with a set of built-in Bluetooth micro-speakers that direct sound into your ears while you wear them. It's an interesting idea that's similar to the Amazon Echo Frames, except without the hands-free Alexa capabilities.
Unfortunately, Razer's Anzu glasses just don't sound very good. They're perfectly fine for blocking out blue light or bright sunlight, but the tiny speaker drivers offer almost no bass and let enough outside sound in that it's difficult to hear playing audio in noisy environments. It's a problem we've seen pretty consistently with this concept.
Warby Parker is one of the more popular fashion-focused glasses stores for its Home Try-On policy. You pick five frames online to try on at home, they're shipped to you, and you choose what you want to keep. The frames are made well and reasonably priced, and like nearly all glasses stores, you can get blue light filtering lenses. The coating is an extra $50, which puts most glasses at around $145 (or less if you have a supported insurance plan).
Zenni is a glasses brand that lets you order inexpensive frames and lenses online. If you have your prescription, you can simply enter the numbers into a form online and your glasses will arrive a few weeks later. With prices starting at $7, I've sworn by Zenni for stocking up on "backup" glasses, though its pricier frames and lenses are generally pretty well made.
Zenni offers Blokz, its own blue blocking lens technology. Blokz lenses start at $17, so you can get prescription blue blocking glasses for as little as $25.
You can get inexpensive blue light blocking glasses at Amazon.com and from other retailers, though you won't have the benefit of prescription lenses. We also haven't looked at any of these glasses ourselves, so we can't attest to their lens or frame quality. We have, however, noticed an interesting pattern: Many of them are the same.
The Livho glasses above appear to be identical to the Meetsun glasses a few entries below them when you search for blue light blocking models on Amazon. We suspect most of these glasses come from the same factory and that the different brand names don't mean much. If you don't recognize the brand and the company doesn't appear to have a dedicated website, expect a generic experience.
You don't need glasses to reduce blue light on your screen. iPhones, Macs, PCs, and most Android phones have night modes that significantly warm up the white balance of the screen to reduce eye strain. On Windows 10 it's called Night Light, and on iOS, iPad OS, and macOS it's called Night Shift. You can set these modes to work on a schedule or based on sunrise and sunset times.
You can also use f.lux, free software for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, which does the same job.
Ironically, the popular-in-drug-stores brand BluBlocker is not advisable for reducing blue light when staring at a screen.
BluBlockers are sunglasses and their tints are too strong for comfortably looking at your monitor. If you use too strong a tint, you can strain your eyes in the other direction, forcing them to deal with too little light instead of too much.
Shopping for glasses can be stressful, especially when you're trying to avoid crowds. Luckily, we have a guide to sites that let you shop for frames and lenses at home. We note which services offer blue-light filtering lenses, too.
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I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).
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