Orange Glasses and Sleep: Correction

I recently posted that an Oakland woman found that wearing orange glasses (which block blue light) in the evening greatly improved her sleep, which had been bad for decades. My post underestimated the improvement. Before she started wearing the glasses, it took her 2-4 hours to fall asleep. After she started wearing the glasses, it took 15-30 minutes. She wears the glasses from 8 to 10 pm. After that she goes to bed and tries to fall asleep.

I was very impressed by her story and started wearing orange glasses starting at 8 pm, even under incandescent light. Previously I only used them when looking at a computer screen in the evening. I’m not sure if wearing them more improves my sleep, but if I had to guess I’d say it does.

8 thoughts on “Orange Glasses and Sleep: Correction

  1. I’ve been wearing orange glasses in the evening for the better part of a year now, putting them on at a time roughly corresponding to Astronomical Twilight* – which is about 7pm this time of year. The first thing I notice is that I immediately almost immediately start feeling tired and yawning. When I go to bed, around 9pm it will take me only 3-5 minutes to fall asleep. Since I wake for work well before sunrise I also wear them in the morning until the first hints of sunlight. Be careful driving in them though. If you’re being pursued by the police their lights are rendered invisible.

    * I ignore daylight savings time rules here, meaning that if observing DST Astronomical Twilight occurs at “6pm” but that’s an artificial creation.

  2. I’ve been using Uvex blue-blockers in the evenings, and put low-blue lights in my house. The blue-blockers really help when looking a computer monitor. Wearing them definitely helps me fall asleep earlier, and I often find myself crawling into bed around 9:00 pm. Prior to wearing blue-blockers, I could easily stay up till midnight. I am convinced that wearing blue-blockers in the evening lowers my waking blood sugar the next morning, but the relationship is complex and influenced by other factors.

  3. Could anyone post what orange glasses work for them? I ordered a pair of 3M glasses (‘fuel red mirror’) but only their reflective coating is orange, looking through them it’s more green.

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