Our eyes are probably the most neglected and uncared parts of our body. While the unhealthy lifestyles we lead and the unhealthy foods that we eat have increased our vulnerability to severe eye disorders, the disrupted routines of the lockdown have just added to the vulnerability. For this reason, more and more people are purchasing blue light glasses for their kid’s online schooling routines; so much so, that glasses with an anti-blue light coating have topped the eyewear trends of the season. Read on to know what blue light glasses are and if your kid really needs them.
What Exactly Is Blue Light?
Sunlight, as we see, is not one light but a whole spectrum of seven different lights that merge together to form sunlight or white light. These seven lights are – Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. All these seven lights move with different wavelengths and energies. Moving from red light to violet, the wavelength decreases and the energy increases. Now, all five lights except violet and indigo are detectable by the human eyes, comprising the visible spectrum while the other two lights are not visible to our eyes, making up the invisible spectrum. This way, blue light becomes the one light that runs with the highest moving energy in the visible spectrum. It is this extreme energy that is damaging for the human eyes.
How Damaging Can Blue Light Be?
As blue light rays pass through the eyes, they induce several changes, reactions and absorptions in different eye parts like the lens, macula and retina. Blue light exposure is connected with most of those prevalent eye defects and diseases like:
- Cataract
- Macular degeneration
- Dry Eye Syndrome
- Glaucoma
- Retinal damage
One major reason why children need to be kept off screen and why you need to give extra attention to their eye care is the way blue light affects their sleep cycles. The sleep cycle in a human body is influenced by melatonin, the sleep hormone. Melatonin is released by the pineal gland in the brain two hours before bedtime, making us feel drowsy. During the day, melatonin production is decreased under the influence of blue rays, making us feel active and awake. This is why blue light exposure is linked with increased concentration levels in some studies. However, high intensity blue rays from artificial sources suppress melatonin production, depriving your kid of sleep.
Blue Light Is Everywhere!
Blue light is just everywhere. You get it from:
- Tech screens like laptop, computer, tablet, smartphone and television.
- Fluorescent light bulbs or LED light bulbs.
- The sun
Though the sun acts as a major source of blue light for us, blue rays emitted by digital screens are more damaging for our eyes because of the close proximity.
Children Are More Prone to Blue Light Damage
Children’s eyes are more sensitive to blue rays damage as compared to adults for four major reasons:
- Their eyes are still under the process of development until the age of 14 to 15 years.
- The eye lens is more transparent in kids that over the years turns opaque with blue light absorption.
- Children have larger pupils than adults, letting more light in the eyes.
- On top of that, generally, children, especially teens, use more digital devices and spend more hours online.
How Do Blue Light Glasses Work?
Blue light blocking glasses are known to save us from the damaging effects of blue light. These glasses come with a special coating that is able to reflect back any blue rays falling on it, thus ‘blocking’ them from entering into your eyes.
While most part of the internet agrees that we must get blue light glasses for students, you can go for your children’s eye test to ensure the same from your optometrist.
Finding The Best Blue Light Glasses
Good quality protective coatings in the UK market can be very heavy on your pocket. However, there is this one fresh start-up in the UK, named Specscart, that is producing premium quality eyeglasses and sunglasses at extremely affordable prices. You can also leverage the free eye test in the UK service provided by Specscart to get your kid’s eyes tested by expert optometrists with zero charges.
