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

To help manage your exposure to this irritating blue light, we recommend taking regular eye breaks and limit device usage, if necessary. As part of a light management plan, you can also consider adding TheraSpecs to your toolkit. We offer a variety of lens options for reducing blue light, including FL-Pro™ and FL-Blend™ which filter the most uncomfortable blue light wavelengths.

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!