What are gaming glasses?

Gaming glasses are said to filter blue-violet light and improve performance when playing video games. Spending too long staring at a screen when gaming may cause eye strain, dry eyes and headaches.

Staring at a screen when gaming, whether it’s a computer monitor or TV screen, can expose your eyes to blue-violet light, which is potentially harmful to your eyes. Gamers glasses are suggested to filter potentially harmful blue light, similarly to how sunglasses protect our eyes from the sun and UV rays.

What is being said about
gaming glasses

There are many claims about how gaming glasses benefit the wearer when playing video games. Most of these are to do with eye health, although they are also said to improve the gamer’s performance.

In terms of eye health, gaming glasses are said to limit your eyes’ exposure to blue-violet light. Blue-violet light is thought to potentially cause eye strain, however there is yet to be scientifically proven. To reduce exposure to blue light, gaming glasses are often coloured yellow or a blue tint.

Digital eye strain can occur when you stare at a screen for too long. This can also cause or aggravate other symptoms with your eyes and general health, like blurred vision and headaches.

As well as improving eye health, gaming glasses are also said to help improve the gamer’s performance and enhance the gaming experience. The lenses on gaming glasses are said to reduce glare from the TV or computer monitor. They can also enhance depth perception and the contrast of colours, allowing the wearer to see details more vividly and clearly. This is said to improve reactions, which is especially useful for fast-paced games.

Do gaming glasses work?

As there aren’t many studies on blue light, or the effects overexposure to blue light can have on your eyes, it’s unclear how much gaming glasses benefit your eye health when gaming.

The yellow & blue tint lenses in gaming glasses do counter and filter blue-violet light, reducing exposure to the eyes. Playing video games for too long can cause eye strain, however, this could be due to staring at a screen for too long, rather than blue-violet light. When we look at screens, whether for gaming, reading or watching, we tend to blink less frequently than usual. This reduces our eyes’ moisture, causing dry eyes and irritation. Gaming glasses may filet blue-violet light; however, digital eye strain may be caused due to infrequent blinking, rather than exposure to blue light.

How to look after your
eyes when gaming

There are some ways you can look after your eyes when playing video games.

As mentioned, when you spend too much time staring at screens, you tend to blink less often than you should. As blinking lubricates your eyes, this can cause them to become dry and irritated. Overexerting your eyes can also cause eye strain and headaches.

Following the 20-20-20 rule when playing video games can help look after your eyes. Every 20 minutes, you should take 20 seconds to look at something which is 20 feet away. This gives your eyes a break from staring a screen, which can help to prevent digital eye strain. This also gives you a chance to blink and lubricate your eyes.

It is also important to ensure the room is well lighted. Staring at a bright screen in the dark can make your eyes work too hard from adjusting to the bright screen from the dark room. Proper lighting can also reduce glare, helping to prevent eye strain.

Sitting too close, or far away, from the TV or computer screen can also cause eye strain. The bigger the screen, the further away you should sit. As a general rule, you should try to sit between 1.5-2.5 the diagonal length of the screen away. So, if the screen is 40”, you should aim to sit between 5-8 feet away.

If you do suffer from digital eye strain, lubricating eye drops can help to relive the symptoms. If your eye strain is due to not blinking frequently enough, eye drops can moisten your eyes, reducing irritation.

Gaming glasses may block blue light, however more research is needed to confirm if they prevent digital eye strain. Often, digital eye strain when gaming is due to the gamer not blinking enough, making their eyes become dry. Taking regular breaks gives your eyes a rest, helping to reduce eye strain. If you suffer from eye strain or are worried about your eyes, you can book an eye test with us, or talk to somebody in store.