Ask HN: Orange-tinted sunglasses for programming at night?

4 points

12 years ago

Like many, I spend way too much time on the computer, including at night. And there is a lot of evidence the suggests that this is not good for you. Hence why the software flux is so popular, and definitely helps out some.

I did some research and found another possible solution, amber sunglasses meant to block blue light. A popular option on the net is:

http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S1933X-Eyewear-SCT-Orange-Anti-Fog/dp/B000USRG90/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1413390677&sr=1-1&keywords=Uvex+s1933x

Aside from anecdotal reviews, there are some studies showing possible effectiveness:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20030543 "At the end of the study, the amber lens group experienced significant (p < .001) improvement in sleep quality relative to the control group and positive affect (p = .005)."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22850476 Basically, looking at tablets and/or bluelight (wavelength 450-495 nm) at night, which suppresses melatonin production considerably, compared with blue-blocking glasses.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21552190 A similar study to above, where orange-tinted safety glasses where used to remove the melatonin suppression effects.

Has HN had any experiences with blue-blocking lenses? Does it help, or is it placebo and/or nonsense?

Cheers.

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