8 Hacks To Try If Blue Light Is Stressing Out Your Eyes

As noted in the Eyesafe handbook, it's not just phones or computer screens that emit blue light. You also need to think about display screens on products like refrigerators, and lightbulbs too.

To solve the lightbulb problem, Eyesafe suggests you buy lightbulbs that have a "warm, white" color tone." In contrast, you should avoid lightbulbs whose brightness is described with phrases like "daylight" or "cool white."

According to Harvard Health, blue light exposure in the hours leading up to bedtime can directly interrupt your body's circadian rhythm. In turn, this affects your sleep quality, and might even contribute to other more serious afflictions. As a result, you should try to avoid screen time entirely in the hours leading up to bed. Swap out your evening Instagram scroll for a book, and you might feel a world of difference in the morning.

"The best thing to [start doing] right now is take a break two hours before bedtime," Dr. Gary Heiting, an eye doctor and Eyesafe Vision Health Advisory Board Member, tells Bustle. "That would be a good first step, at least to prevent you from having sleep issues."

One great option for minimizing blue light exposure is wearing protective glasses whenever you're looking at a computer screen, like during your work hours. For example, Blokz blue light glasses are customizable, have virtually clear lenses, and have a special coating that helps prevent blue light and UV rays from passing through to your eyes. There are also options from Warby Parker and Felix Gray, too.

However, before you purchase any eye glasses, Dr. Heiting suggests you read a bit into what percentage of blue light the glasses are protecting you from, exactly.

"One of the problems has been to date that there’s no standards, nationwide or internationally, as to ‘does this product meet a certain standard that’s been identified based on research,'" he says. He also notes that Eyesafe has created its own set of standards, which you can read about here.

There are plenty of apps and software options available so that you can look at your phone or computer in the evening without feeling blasted by blue light. For example, F.lux is a software that automatically adjusts your computer's display as it gets darker outside, so that the display doesn't feel as bright.

As for blue light filtering apps, you can consider Blue Light Filter for Eye Care or Twilight, among others.

You always have the option of buying a screen cover for your laptop as an option for filtering out blue light. If you and your co-workers all are tired of that eye strain, you can split a three-pack of blue light screen filter covers for $23. There are plenty of options available on Amazon for any size screen.

As for your phone, InvisibleShield offers iPhone screen protectors that help block blue light. In addition, there are options to change the color temperature of your phone display, as explained below. Dr. Heiting also notes that Dell has recently integrated many of its products with Eyesafe technology to decrease blue light exposure; so you can also start looking out for products that have built-in blue light prevention tools, too.

If you have an iPhone, you can always use the Night Shift setting, which adjusts the color temperature of your phone display to make it less jarring to your vision at night. All you have to do is go to "Settings," then "Display and Brightness." You should see the option for Night Shift there.

The best thing you can do for your eyes (and your overall mental and physical health) at the end of the day is to cap your screen time to a daily limit, and hold yourself to that limit. If you have an iPhone, you can use the screen time function to keep track of which apps you spend the most time looking at and set limits from there.

Regardless of which steps you take to protect yourself day-to-day, there are certain aspects of blue light exposure that you can't totally avoid.

That's why regulation is so important, Barrett says. "We believe that asking people just to cut back on their screen time, while well-intended, is not realistic," he explains. "Devices need to be made safely, and there needs to be awareness around that and regulations to match it."

It's also worth remembering that, as scary as these risks seem, there are also solutions out there. "Manufacturers are already addressing this topic," Barrett points out. Examples include the many options for blue light-focused eyewear, and the Dell blue light technology advances.

If the short and long term risks of blue light exposure bother you, then the first thing you should do is obviously take preventative measures to protect yourself, like the ones mentioned above. But you can also reach out to your representatives in D.C. and let them know you support California's resolution and want to see others like it.

Experts:

Dr. Gary Heiting, eye doctor and Eyesafe Vision Health Advisory Board Member

Justin Barrett, CEO of Eyesafe