If you’re like millions of people worldwide, the answer is likely yes. And even if you don’t work on the computer, you may spend a few hours per day browsing the internet and checking social media.

But have you ever thought about what those hours on the computer are potentially doing to your health?

Here are a few areas of caution:

• Vision
• Neck, shoulder and back pain
• Poor sleep & fatigue

1. Vision

Looking at a computer screen too long can cause Computer Vision Syndrome. Symptoms include

• Eye strain
• Headaches
• Blurry vision
• Dry eyes

Possible solution: following the “20-20-20” rule. Focus on something else for 20 seconds, 20 feet away, every 20 minutes to “rest” your eyes.

2. Neck, Shoulder, and Back Pain

Chronic neck, back and shoulder pain is commonly developed in people who use the computer for multiple hours per day. Reason being that our posture suffers when our shoulders are pulled forward to type and click. We also have a tendency to stoop and crane our necks when looking too closely at a screen.

Possible solution: stand up and stretch a couple of times each hour. Set a timer to remind yourself to stand up and walk away from the computer to stretch out your upper body. The breaks will do wonders.

3. Poor Sleep and Fatigue

By now you know that blue light is detrimental to your sleep. By suppressing melatonin production (the hormone that helps us get a restful night of rest), blue light emitted from computer screens and other digital devices can leave us unable to fall asleep at night and/or stay asleep. This means fatigue, grogginess and less productive days. Not to mention the link between poor sleep, weight gain and health issues that have been proven in countless studies.

Possible solution: wear BluTech Lenses while working on the computer to prevent the harmful range of blue light from wreaking havoc on your sleep patterns.

But you may still be wondering: what does blue light physically do to our eyeballs?

The Eyes are Not Very Effective at Blocking Blue Light

 The front part of our eyes, the cornea and lens, are very effective when it comes to blocking UV rays from reaching the back part of the eye (the light-sensitive part called the retina). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for blue light. Virtually all visible blue light passes through the cornea and lens and reaches the retina.

This is problematic on two levels: short-term and long-term.

Short-term Problems

Too much blue light exposure can be felt daily by our eyes. The most common symptoms include:

• Eye strain
• Blurry vision
• Dry eyes
• Headaches occuring behind the eyes

These are not enjoyable symptoms, but if kept in check early enough they can be stopped before turning into worse long-term issues.

Long-term Problems

 If nothing is done to block overexposure to blue light, more serious risks occur. Chief amongst these is the possibility of macular degeneration. Macular Degeneration is the number one cause of vision loss, affecting more than 10 million Americans (more than both glaucoma and cataracts combined). And there’s currently no cure.

Macular Degeneration is caused by a deterioration in the central part of the retina. Much like a camera, the macula is a sensitive area that collects highly detailed images, which are then processed by the brain. When the macula starts to deteriorate, the images fail to process correctly.

The causes of macular degeneration are not entirely understood or known at this time. Age-related reasons, genetics and environmental influences (such as overexposure to blue light) are the main culprits right now according to scientists.

Like most serious long-term problems, prevention is key.

BluTech Lenses are scientifically designed to help with both the short-term and long-term effects of blue light exposure on our eyes. To learn more, click here.

This may seem like a temporary reprieve from the harmful effects of blue light, but that’s not necessarily the case. After all, the sun emits the majority of the blue light our eyes are exposed to. So, before you reach for just any pair of new shades, consider adding some extra protection to your sunglasses.

Why We Protect Our Eyes From the Sun

The sun is the primary source of harmful UV light and intense blue light that decreases visual clarity and can potentially harm your retina. We’re all told at a young age to not stare directly into the sun, but the light emitted is so powerful that humans should wear sunglasses even when the light is less direct and reflecting off the atmosphere around us.

You may already instinctively wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun’s UV rays, but what about all of that blue light? Do your sunglasses include protection for both?

Leveling Up Your Sunglasses

These days, any pair of sunglasses worth its weight in plastic should shield your eyes from harmful UV rays. But this summer, take it a step further and add blue light protection to your shades. You’ll lower your risk of blue light-related health concerns and you may find you sleep more restfully. This is because blue light disrupts our natural melatonin production cycle and can delay your natural bedtime.

And because the blue light protection will blend seamlessly into the sunglass lenses, you won’t lose out on any style points!

Get ready for National Sunglasses Day which is right around the corner. National Sunglasses Day is on June 27th.  The Vision Council’s official hashtag to celebrate is #NationalSunglassesDay and #SunglassSelfie. What are you doing on National Sunglasses Day?

To add BluTech protection to sunglasses, contact a dealer near you. Visit our dealer locator page to find one in your neck of the woods: https://blutechlenses.com/dealers/.

According to the World Health Organization, children under five years old must spend less time sitting watching screens, get better quality sleep and have more time for active play if they are to grow up healthy.

The recently published guidelines state that the younger the child, the more serious the implications. Specifically, infants one years of age and younger should have no sedentary screen time on electronic devices, such as watching TV or videos and playing computer games. For children ages three to four, sedentary screen time should be capped under an hour.

“Early childhood is a period of rapid development and a time when family lifestyle patterns can be adapted to boost health gains” said WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. And with 80% of adolescents not physically active enough worldwide, the long-term effects of correcting this could compound into massive changes.

If established early in life, the healthy habits of less screen time and more physical movement plus sound sleep will follow children through adolescence and into adulthood. These will strengthen not only physical health, but mental as well.

Putting it to Practice

Ok, you understand the new guidelines and they make sense. But how do you put them to work in real life?

Try putting active playtime back into your children’s routine. Instead of sedentary pastimes like a movie, streaming TV shows, video games or games on the phone, immerse your children in more active play like reading, storytelling, singing and puzzles. These forms of interactive play are crucial for childhood development according to the WHO guidelines.

And when the times arise when your children are allowed to spend time on screens, protect their eyes from the harmful effects of blue light. Not only can this help prevent Computer Vision Syndrome, but the melatonin-suppressing effects of blue light can interfere with a good night’s sleep, which all children need plenty of.

To learn more about BluTech protection for your children, visit here.

While we are all exposed to natural blue light via the sun, the increase in artificial blue light has rapidly increased over the last century. Humans have not evolved to process this type of light efficiently, which is why it can cause eye strain and interruption of the circadian rhythms’ sleep cycle.

You’re probably wondering what you can do to limit your exposure to blue light. You perhaps can’t change your profession because it’s what pays your mortgage and car payment, but what you can do is limit your exposure to harmful blue light.

Here are some helpful tips from ophthalmologists and optometrists:

• BluTech Lenses – BluTech Lenses are specifically designed with a proprietary formulation of pigments and dyes. They protect your eyes the way nature does. These blue light filtering glasses are the gold standard for blue light protection and offer filtration that is built into the lens, which means it won’t rub off like cheap imitations.
• Prescription Glasses – It may be that your eyes require an adjustment, albeit it for near- or far-sightedness or slight astigmatism. Visit an eye care professional and see if you need prescription glasses. If you do, opt for Blutech lenses.
• Monitor – Dump the CRT and get an LCD monitor. A large LCD monitor will give your eyes more surface area to stare at, and you can make fonts larger to help avoid squinting, which can fatigue your eyes.
• Take a Break – Eyes get tired of not blinking enough and getting dry. Take a 20-second eye break from the screen every 20 minutes. You may also want to start using eye drops, but talk to your eye care professional first to eliminate more serious eye conditions.
• Turn Down the Brightness – Instead of opting for a bright white monitor, set the display to white text on a black background This dramatically helps reduce the amount of light you are taking in.
• Make Text Bigger – Don’t be embarrassed to make the text on your screen larger.
• Night Shift – Some computers offer built-in night shift modes, and there are also several free versions available. These programs shift your blue light on your computer to allow for warmer colors at night. While this doesn’t eliminate blue light, it can help reduce your exposure.