Are Your Blue Blockers *Actually* Working? How To Tell + One Mistake To Avoid

As people spend more and more time staring at screens throughout the day (thank you, Zoom calls), many turn to blue light-blocking glasses as a way to mitigate exposure to, well, blue light. Short disclaimer: Blue light isn’t inherently bad (in fact, the sun’s blue light helps regulate our natural sleep and wake cycles and boosts alertness!). It’s the constant exposure from screens that can cause eyestrain and mess with melatonin production.

That’s where the glasses come in to filter the blue light from your surroundings—and if you’re like us, you may be wondering whether all blue light blockers are created equal. Can any old pair protect our orbs?

According to functional medicine doctor Leland Stillman, M.D., there are, in fact, important factors to look for when selecting a pair of blue light blockers. On the mindbodygreen podcast, he shares a simple way to test their effectiveness, as well as the most common mistake he notices when it comes to selecting a pair.