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The best blue light blocking glasses to prevent headaches, improve sleep, and more
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What is blue light, and why is it so bad for us?
Well, it's everywhere. Found in the sun's rays, fluorescent lights, phone and TV screens, and more, blue light affects your vision and health because blue is transmitted in shorter wavelengths, thus scattering more easily and causing visual "noise" by straining your eye muscles, blurring vision, increasing the chance for cataracts, and so on.
We've also all heard reducing screen time at night can help better our sleep quality, and that works because blue light exposure disrupts the natural production of melatonin. If you can't put down the tablet, blocking those rays with glasses is a helpful way to ensure your hormone levels remain balanced. Or maybe you're suffering an unusual number of headaches recently, which could be related to your screen time too due to strain and even potential retina damage.
But screens are hardly disappearing any time soon, so how do we remedy the problem?
Blue light blocking glasses can provide numerous benefits to wearers who routinely spend half their day or more staring at a screen – something many of us do these days. These glasses are specially treated to filter out the blue wavelengths that cause the most damage to you, and many users report fewer headaches, better sleep, and a host of other benefits after using them regularly for several weeks.
Below, we've chosen several pairs of glasses suitable for all genders, budgets, and styles to experiment with should you think you could benefit from cutting down on rays. Keep reading to see our top picks and click through to see even more options, including many highly customizable ones, to find your perfect pair.
Manta Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Manta
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
These glasses – the most expensive on this list – are up first for the simple fact that they look so cool. The round style is beautifully on-trend and gender-neutral, and the yellow lenses provide a retro-chic look that you won't want to take off just because screen time is over.
Manta
$75
The Chic Instashade
Privé Revaux
The Chic Instashade
Dollar for dollar, you won't find a much better deal than this package from eyewear experts Privé Revaux. The clear lens option is stylish, modern, and protects you from excess blue light as promised, but you'll also receive two magnetic shade frames for tossing on to protect from the sun's rays, too!
Privé Revaux
$60
Heart-Shaped Glasses 4421018
Zenni
Heart-Shaped Glasses 4421018
For the fun-loving person who spends countless hours on their laptop typing away, these heart-shaped glasses could be the ideal foil for intrusive blue light. Thanks to Zenni's endless ability to customize any pair on their site, these can be prescription or non, blue light blocking, red or patterned, and tinted to your liking – just to name a few options.
Click through and start building your own perfect pair and enjoy the bevy of customer photos that act as reviews and perhaps even inspiration for your own style.
Zenni
$19.95
On The Fly
Quay
On The Fly
Currently trending on Quay's website are these fun, squared-off aviators (aka navigators) that are stylish, edgy, and great for pairing with the retro trends we're seeing in fashion for summer '22. They're so cool you'll forget you're wearing them for the protection they offer from excess screen time! Prepare to shine day to night in these specs.
Quay
$55
Center Stage
Peepers
Center Stage Blue Light Blockers
If you'd like to make a bold statement while blocking blue rays, try these oversized, classically bookish frames from Peepers. You can customize them to be reading glasses, progressives, or just blockers, and they are notably the company's most popular frame, even featured as one of Oprah's favorite things!
Peepers
$27
Crane - Matte Black
Baxter Blue
Crane - Matte Black
Unisex, chic, and designed specifically for use after dark, these large frames look great on oval and round faces, even claiming to enhance your jawline. They also promise to help promote better sleep thanks to melatonin regulation through their anti-reflective, hydro-phobic (that means water-repellent) lenses.
Baxter Blue
$95
$47.50
Blue Light Blocking Oversized Square Acrylic Glasses
Kate Hewko
Blue Light Blocking Oversized Square Acrylic Glasses
Stretch your fashion horizon with these oversized acrylic frames that come in clear, green, or tea (they're selling quick though, so click through to find your favorite color!) and let the UV 400 rating plus blue blocking filter provide ample protection throughout the day while scrolling your phone or working online.
Kate Hewko
$59
Zéro D Clean Lens Round Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Zero D
Clean Lens Round Blue Light Blocking Glasses Computer Gaming/TV/Phones Anti Eyestrain for Men Women 1903
Advertised for men but perfectly fine for any gender, these clear lens round glasses are the epitome of the hot '90s Bruce Wayne type (watch Val Kilmer's role in Batman Returns for inspiration) and will complement a wide variety of face shapes. At just $23.99, they're also a total steal.
Zero D
$23.99
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