Let me get one thing straight, I wouldn’t consider myself a hard core gamer. Sure, I play a few games every now and then, and I’ll stream once in a blue moon, but I wouldn’t put myself on par with the people who play all night and win every match. For me, gaming is more of a casual pastime, something to do when I have a little free time. I don’t even have a buffed up gaming PC, something most gamers would consider essential. I play on a measly Xbox One S. Sure, I don’t have the best equipment, but that was never my problem. Rather, I found my eyes to be more of a concern. 

Do you ever have that feeling where your eyes start to feel strained after looking at a screen for an extended amount of time? I do, and up until a few months ago I wished I had a way to fix it. My friends told me it was due to the colors being messed up on my monitor. I thought it was because I was sitting too close to the screen. It wasn’t until I brought the topic up to my doctor that I got a solution. 

Computers, televisions, and even cell phones give off something called blue light. Blue light tricks your brain into thinking it is day time, even if it’s completely dark outside. This is why after a long gaming session, you may have trouble falling asleep, because your brain thinks it is still time to be awake. Blue light is also the reason most doctors recommend putting your phone away an hour before bed. The simple solution is to do just that, but what if you don’t want to? What if you want to play right up until five minutes before you go to bed? Allow me to introduce blue light glasses.

When I first heard of blg’s, I was a little skeptical. How could a simple lens help me to get a good night’s sleep? For the first few months I knew about their existence, I did nothing. It wasn’t until I heard a pair of guys talking about them in a Best Buy that I gave the glasses a second thought. I did the one thing I never thought I’d do out of my own free will, research. As it turns out, blg’s seemed to work for a lot of people. There was only one thing to do now. I had to try blue light glasses for myself. 

I picked up a pair up for fifty dollars, pricey, but worth it? Yes. Over the past month, I’ve worn the blg’s every time I’ve booted up my Xbox. I can happily say that ever since, my eyes haven’t felt strained, and headaches have become a distant memory. The best part is that blg’s aren’t just for gaming. I’d recommend blg’s to anyone who works on a screen, specifically at night. While I was skeptical at first, I am now very glad to own a pair.