Is too much blue light bad for your eyes?

Exposure to blue light can have a range of effects for your eyes, especially if they're light sensitive. While it is unclear whether there may be any long-term eye damage from our encounters with blue light, we know it can cause discomfort for many—from temporary eye strain and irritation to the onset of headaches, migraine attacks, and photophobia. Luckily, science may have an explanation for why artificial blue light from screens and other sources can make a person feel so uncomfortable.

We all have special cells in our eyes that are highly sensitive to certain wavelengths of blue light. In fact, they're most excited around 480-520 nanometers (nm) – the same wavelengths clinical research has found to cause a pain response in people with light sensitivity.¹ Digital devices are typically backlit by LEDs or fluorescent bulbs - both sources of blue light and these irritating wavelengths. 

Fluorescent lighting can also expose us to this troublesome light; many fluorescent sources also pulse faster than our eyes can see, a negative effect that is strongest in the blue part of the spectrum, which can further the aggravation our eyes and brains experience.²

In addition, blue light has been shown to disrupt healthy sleep cycles, and some blue light can even make it difficult for our eyes to focus.³

Since sunlight can have 250 times more blue light than artificial light sources, our dark and polarized FL-Sun™ lenses can provide the strongest filtering between 480-520nm when you're out and about!