Do 'computer glasses' really work?

[Al Sacco]

So I've been looking at new ways to potentially limit my exposure to blue light, seeing as how I stare at a computer screen for upwards of 12 hours a day, and I think it's #@$%*&# with my sleep. I've read about "computer glasses" before but I really don't see all that many people who use them, or who have used them, talking about their experiences.

So I'm curious, if you've used glasses from companies like Gunnar or HyperX, do you feel like they make a real difference? If so, do you have any specific models to recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[Indistinguishable]

I've long been tempted to pull the trigger on some Gunnars. But then i remind myself that F.lux is capable of doing the same thing. And it's free and doesn't need to be on your eyes.

I could be convinced otherwise if people can show that blue light glasses do a better job than the eye strain setting on F.lux.

 

[MBytes]

So I've been looking at new ways to potentially limit my exposure to blue light, seeing as how I stare at a computer screen for upwards of 12 hours a day, and I think it's #@$%*&# with my sleep. I've read about "computer glasses" before but I really don't see all that many people who use them, or who have used them, talking about their experiences.

So I'm curious, if you've used glasses from companies like Gunnar or HyperX, do you feel like they make a real difference? If so, do you have any specific models to recommend? Thanks in advance.

Save your money.
First of all, exposure to blue light being bad lack research to confirm. However, if you feel you have trouble, Windows 10 has Night Light, which reduces blue light. Yo ucan turn it automatically based on time, or manually. You can try it, the option is under Settings panel and can be turned on or off in the action center.

But if you are using so much your computer, you should invest in a better monitor instead. Get a monitor with a true 8-bit IPS panel, that doesn't use a PWM driven back light, and runs on anything beside "white" LEDs. Monitor flickering is probably more of a problem than anything. For some, it causes headaches or causes dry eyes (as they don't blink). PWM is an effect that people can't see, but might be able to feel.

• True 8-bit per channel panel, means that the monitor can display all 16.7 million colors that your computer and programs supports. It doesn't need to do like 6-bit panels do, and that is take 2 colors it can produce and switch between them at a rapid rate to try and fool your eyes in seeing the right color.
  
• PWM driven backlight means that the monitor can't actually set a lower voltage to the backlight (non dimmable), so to achieve a lower brightness, it flickers ON and OFF the LEDs at a very rapid rate. The speed depends on the desired illumination. Usually max brightness is full on (PWM circuit is disabled), and lowr the brightness, the slower the flickering. So you want a monitor with an actual dimming circuit
  
• White LED backlight monitor, are usually powered by simple white LEDs, which are really more light blue than anything else. Getting a monitor with GB-LED or white-LED with yellow phosphore is your best yet (ideally, RGB-LED to get a nice true white, but to due cost, it is not available the consume market, yet). GB-LED is Green and Blue LEDs put very close together, with a layer of red phosphor applied to them to output a closer to actual white light, than "white" LEDs. Some manufacture uses white LEDs, but put applies a layer of yellow phosphore to correct the light output to a proper white. Back in the older days, the premium consumer monitors used to sports high grade CCFLs, which outputs a nice true white light, and reduces significantly many drawbacks of the technology, such as significantly reduce the time it needs to reach max illumination. But of course they consume more power than LED, made the monitor more bulky (especially that better light diffusing techniques where needed), and creates a lot of heat.

To know all this, you need to look at in depth monitor review sites like TFT Central, as an example.

Usually, most (not all) Dell Ultrasharp monitors features true 8-bit panels, and actual dimming circuit for the back light. Some manufacture advertises the monitor as "flicker free" as well (but might be using a 6-bit panel). True 8-bit panel are easy to identify They are monitors that usually advertises as 1.07 billion colors. Where they use the same technique as 6-bit panels to achieve 8-bit per channel colors, but to achieve 10-bit colors. But it is ok, as to enjoy 10-bit colors, you need content that is in 10-bit per channel, supported programs, graphics card, and supported drivers. So far, you don't have this at the consumer level. With the exception of HDR enabled games and movies. But you have multiple HDR standards, and you need everything supporting the same standard. HDR on the computer space is still iffy, too new... dust needs to settle first. And no, if you monitor does 10.7 billion colors, it is not automatically HDR ready, as HDR has specific color space it works within (which varies between HDR standard) and everything needs to be aligned.

Of course, as you can guess, 6-bit panel and PWM are used to make the monitor much more affordable. So expects a premium price to pay. If you want to try, Dell offer free shipping and free return shipping if you don't like it in US and Canada (not sure about other regions, check before ordering). Most Dell Ultrasharp monitors are also color calibrated at the manufacture, with a report card of the calibration included in the box (keep this sheet if you want to return it and get full money back)

What I have? I have the Dell U2410. A 2008 monitor still going strong today. 16:10 aspect ratio (1920x1200), which is powered by high grade CCFLs, true 8-bit panel, and no PWM circuit (well it uses CCFL, but has a thick layer of phosphor inside the tube to reduce flickering significantly)

 

[MBytes]

Forgot to mention, when I say "per Channel" I mean Red, Green and Blue. those are "channels". Sorry I went to fast.

 

[Pairadyce]

Night light doesn't work on one of my screens in my setup for my work laptop because I have it connected through a USB Hub due to this latop's lack of ports and a dock.

That said, I got a pair for $14 on Amazon just to ease the strain on the eyes (after I saw you WC advertise some on sale for $50) and a couple weeks in, I'm not feeling the eyestrain I was around lunch time and the afternoon that I had been for the last month or so since transitioning to working from home.

MBytes is obviously more invested and read on the subject, so this is just my input and I can't say that my sleep is any more or less better, but the glasses have helped in addition to learning to look away from the screen more than I was. I didn't opt for these purely because they were cheap and I wanted to try them out, but most of the reviews people said they were helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3737362

 

[DHX]

I've been using Gunnars for a few years now. My first pair was the Intercept style (in the Ghost frame) which are billed as 'gaming' glasses. Same difference, really. I bought those back in mid 2014. The frame eventually broke and I was forced to order a second pair from some Scandinavian gaming site, as Gunnar no longer offered that style (which had sort of become my trademark style at work). I also ordered a pair of the Enigma style in the 'Void' frame, and I currently switch between the two based on style and mood.:angel:

Before I ordered my first pair, my eyes were in rather poor shape. I have perfect 20/20 vision. Yet at the time I had just taken a job where I stare into computer screens all day. Granted, they were not the best monitors, so I'm not sure if that comes into it. After work I would also game for a few more hours, and then several more hours over the weekend. Needless to say my eyes became severely strained, a condition I had never experienced before. They were red and itchy... SUPER itchy, dry feeling, like sandpaper, always needing to be rubbed, which irritated them even more to the point where I thought I was going blind! They would get super blurry and unable to focus. It was bad. Concerningly bad!

I then decided to try these 'gaming' glasses. When I did, the relief was fairly instant. It wasn't great relief, but relief nonetheless. Over time of using them (I exclusively used them at work, not at home), my condition improved and improved and improved! Nowadays, it's no longer even an issue, and I can easily go without them! I have little else to attribute my improvement to other than these glasses. They of course block blue light, shield the eyes from elements that would cause them to dry, slightly increase magnification and contrast of text and other elements on a screen, and just look cool.. all according to the marketing blurbs on Gunnar's website. I feel that the glasses live up to all of that. So in summation, they work!

However it's not all good news..

I personally feel that after years of using them, my vision has begun to rely on the text-enhancing properties. While I still have 20/20 vision and can easily read fine text without them, I sense it's becoming more difficult to read without the text being back-lit or well lit.. Of course, this could be due to a number of things, but I mention it here for anyone's consideration.

So TLR - I personally can't recommend them enough. But try not to become too dependent on them!

 

[Andrew G1]

Dude that was super interesting. Thanks!

Originally posted by MBytes

Originally Posted by Al Sacco
So I've been looking at new ways to potentially limit my exposure to blue light, seeing as how I stare at a computer screen for upwards of 12 hours a day, and I think it's #@$%*&# with my sleep. I've read about "computer glasses" before but I really don't see all that many people who use them, or who have used them, talking about their experiences.

So I'm curious, if you've used glasses from companies like Gunnar or HyperX, do you feel like they make a real difference? If so, do you have any specific models to recommend? Thanks in advance.

Save your money.
First of all, exposure to blue light being bad lack research to confirm. However, if you feel you have trouble, Windows 10 has Night Light, which reduces blue light. Yo ucan turn it automatically based on time, or manually. You can try it, the option is under Settings panel and can be turned on or off in the action center.

But if you are using so much your computer, you should invest in a better monitor instead. Get a monitor with a true 8-bit IPS panel, that doesn't use a PWM driven back light, and runs on anything beside "white" LEDs. Monitor flickering is probably more of a problem than anything. For some, it causes headaches or causes dry eyes (as they don't blink). PWM is an effect that people can't see, but might be able to feel.

* True 8-bit per channel panel, means that the monitor can display all 16.7 million colors that your computer and programs supports. It doesn't need to do like 6-bit panels do, and that is take 2 colors it can produce and switch between them at a rapid rate to try and fool your eyes in seeing the right color.

* PWM driven backlight means that the monitor can't actually set a lower voltage to the backlight (non dimmable), so to achieve a lower brightness, it flickers ON and OFF the LEDs at a very rapid rate. The speed depends on the desired illumination. Usually max brightness is full on (PWM circuit is disabled), and lowr the brightness, the slower the flickering. So you want a monitor with an actual dimming circuit

* White LED backlight monitor, are usually powered by simple white LEDs, which are really more light blue than anything else. Getting a monitor with GB-LED or white-LED with yellow phosphore is your best yet (ideally, RGB-LED to get a nice true white, but to due cost, it is not available the consume market, yet). GB-LED is Green and Blue LEDs put very close together, with a layer of red phosphor applied to them to output a closer to actual white light, than "white" LEDs. Some manufacture uses white LEDs, but put applies a layer of yellow phosphore to correct the light output to a proper white. Back in the older days, the premium consumer monitors used to sports high grade CCFLs, which outputs a nice true white light, and reduces significantly many drawbacks of the technology, such as significantly reduce the time it needs to reach max illumination. But of course they consume more power than LED, made the monitor more bulky (especially that better light diffusing techniques where needed), and creates a lot of heat.


To know all this, you need to look at in depth monitor review sites like TFT Central, as an example.

Usually, most (not all) Dell Ultrasharp monitors features true 8-bit panels, and actual dimming circuit for the back light. Some manufacture advertises the monitor as "flicker free" as well (but might be using a 6-bit panel). True 8-bit panel are easy to identify They are monitors that usually advertises as 1.07 billion colors. Where they use the same technique as 6-bit panels to achieve 8-bit per channel colors, but to achieve 10-bit colors. But it is ok, as to enjoy 10-bit colors, you need content that is in 10-bit per channel, supported programs, graphics card, and supported drivers. So far, you don't have this at the consumer level. With the exception of HDR enabled games and movies. But you have multiple HDR standards, and you need everything supporting the same standard. HDR on the computer space is still iffy, too new... dust needs to settle first. And no, if you monitor does 10.7 billion colors, it is not automatically HDR ready, as HDR has specific color space it works within (which varies between HDR standard) and everything needs to be aligned.

Of course, as you can guess, 6-bit panel and PWM are used to make the monitor much more affordable. So expects a premium price to pay. If you want to try, Dell offer free shipping and free return shipping if you don't like it in US and Canada (not sure about other regions, check before ordering). Most Dell Ultrasharp monitors are also color calibrated at the manufacture, with a report card of the calibration included in the box (keep this sheet if you want to return it and get full money back)

What I have? I have the Dell U2410. A 2008 monitor still going strong today. 16:10 aspect ratio (1920x1200), which is powered by high grade CCFLs, true 8-bit panel, and no PWM circuit (well it uses CCFL, but has a thick layer of phosphor inside the tube to reduce flickering significantly)