YouTube saved me 1000 bucks.

Last week, I got a new pair of glasses from Lenskart. But before I did, I made a couple of searches online. Where’s the nearest outlet. I downloaded the app. Checked if I still got the gold membership. Luckily I did. Can’t lose that buy one, get one deal bro! I even went and compared the outlets. To make sure I didn't go to a kiosk when there was a full-fledged retail store just a few km away.

The point is. I left enough trail online for the big brother i.e algorithm to know that I was looking for some glasses. Mostly it’s annoying because all it does is bombard advertisements lock, stock, and barrel.

But …… this time it played out to my benefit.?

Here’s how -

There’s been enough talk about blue lights emitting from our screens, right. Be it a laptop, smartphone, or any xyz device. I first got to know about it at a Lenskart store. The store guys kinda sell it to you. It's just a 1000 bucks add-on. Gives you extra protection against the harmful light from our devices. They even demonstrate how their premium blu glasses decrease the intensity of blue light once it passes through the lenses. With all the setup they have. It seemed to work.

I believed it. The glasses I wear have premium protection.

But once, I did go out to a local eyewear store. The one where certificates are framed and displayed over the counter.

He kinda brought up the importance of getting this protective layer with awful seriousness.If not it weakens your vision. causes eye irritation or strains. Can damage the retina. I could relate to that stuff. I said to him. I’m already sold. Get me that anti-blue layer.

Now let’s get to the point.

The whole ‘blue light damages the vision’ came up in 2018. When a research paper was published by a group of scientists. Eyewear companies took that up and built their product around it. Cause why not, there’s substantial research backing it up.

But the devil lies in the details, mi amigo.

Here’s that. Those researchers took cells in a petri dish and exposed them to high intensive blue light. All of those cells died. That was the conclusion, blue light is harmful to our vision. Period.? But those cells were not eye cells, they were cervical cancer cells.

That changes it a big deal. Our retina cells have a pigment called lutein and zeaxanthin that are natural blue blockers. nerd alert! Chuck blue light, these pigment can protect us from high-intensity UV rays as well.

So do we need that blue light protective glasses?

Umm, not really. A 2017 review looked at three separate trials related to wearing blue-light-blocking glasses and eyestrain. The authors didn’t identify any reliable evidence to link blue-light-blocking glasses with improvements in vision, reduced eyestrain, or improvements in sleep quality.

If you’re having eye strain after long hours of using a laptop or smartphone, it is because you’re not blinking enough. Eventually, your eyes dry up causing irritation or strain.

There is this 20-20-20 rule that’s recommended. Every 20 mins, take a 20 secs break and look 20 feet away. Put in some blinks if you want.

Now you might be thinking this dude ain't an eye specialist. What if all this is BS?

Remember, in the start, I mentioned that the big brother played out to my benefit. Well here’s how,

It recommended me two videos on youtube the day before my visit. That made the whole difference. I’m linking them here.

The Lenskart guys weren't hard sellers. But many opticians around the world do exaggerate the importance of having this layer. Link it with long-term eye diseases that have no association with blue light in the first place. They kinda follow the motto, if it’s scary it sells.

You need not be intimidated, now that you know the deal.

The layer does have one benefit though. It might help you to sleep. Blue light messes with your body's ability to prepare for sleep because it blocks a hormone called melatonin that makes you sleepy.

But you don't sleep with your glasses on, do you?

All right, that’s about it. If you liked the article, hit a sub. Or check out the previous ones. Or maybe just do whatever you feel like.

Peace out!

#myth #debunked #nerd #writer