Do blue light glasses help you get a good night's sleep?

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

Rilie Furdell turned to blue light glasses to ease eye strain and improve her sleep after spending long hours on screens.

"I was just looking at my phone and my computer all day, every day. And it just felt like it was really straining my eyes, and I just could not look at my screen anymore," Furdell said.

To combat the strain, Furdell incorporated blue light glasses into her nightly routine.

"After I go to the shower, do my skin care, put them on, and then as I'm getting comfy, I do my nightly scroll, and they're on the whole time," she said.

Furdell said wearing the glasses has helped her fall asleep faster and eased her migraines.

"I started wearing them because I got migraines really bad," Furdell said. "I actually used to be on medicine for the migraines, I don't even need any more."

Dr. Jose Colon, a sleep medicine specialist at Lee Health, explained how blue light affects sleep.

"When people are on screens or around a lot of light that has that blue light, it continues to inhibit their melatonin into the evening," Colon said.

He added that blue light not only makes it harder to fall asleep but also impacts sleep quality.

"The blue light does impact your sleep quality because you're not secreting that melatonin," Colon said.

Colon said blue light glasses can be a helpful solution.

"There's actually some good studies with the blue light blocking glasses that actually does help you with the sleep onset," he said.

While avoiding screens entirely is the best option, Colon recommended limiting screen time to half an hour to an hour before bed. He added that blue light glasses and adjusting phone settings can make a big difference in improving sleep.

"They're cute. They're functional. And I'd recommend them," Furdell said.

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