Blue Light Glasses for Sleep: What the Evidence Says

If you scroll your phone or read on a tablet before bed, glasses that block blue light can look like a simple way to protect your sleep. They range from inexpensive amber frames to pricey prescription coatings. Here is what the research found and what eye doctors suggest instead.

Blue light and your body clock

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)¹ says blue light affects your circadian rhythm, the body’s sleep and wake cycle. During the day it helps wake you up, but too much late-night exposure from phones, tablets and computers can make it harder to fall asleep.¹

What trials found for sleep

A 2023 Cochrane² review looked at 17 randomized trials of blue-light-filtering glasses in adults. The trials were small, with 5 to 156 people, and lasted from less than a day to five weeks.²

• Sleep results were mixed. Six trials with 148 people measured sleep. Three found better sleep scores with blue-light-filtering glasses, and three found no difference. The reviewers rated the evidence very low certainty and said they couldn’t tell whether the glasses help sleep.²
• Eye strain. The glasses may not ease eye strain from computer use in the short term.²
• Side effects were uncommon but included headache, discomfort wearing the glasses, lower mood and increased depressive symptoms in some studies.²

What eye doctors recommend

The AAO says it doesn’t recommend any special blue-light-blocking eyewear for computer use.¹ For sleep, its advice is free:¹

1. Limit screens two to three hours before bed.
2. Turn on nighttime settings on your phone, tablet and computer in the evening.
3. For tired eyes, use the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

The AAO also notes that sunlight is the largest source of blue light.¹

If you still want to try them

• Try an inexpensive pair first before paying for prescription lenses or coatings.
• Track two weeks with and two weeks without. Note when you went to bed, how long it took to fall asleep and how you felt the next day.
• Stop if you get headaches or feel low.²

When sleep needs more than glasses

If you’ve had trouble sleeping at least three nights a week for months, glasses won’t address the cause. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended first treatment. See our guides to insomnia and CBT-I and trouble falling asleep.

Try: “I can’t fall asleep after using my phone at night. Would blue-light glasses help, or should we look at other causes of my insomnia?”

Did I Do That in My Sleep? includes a 14-Night Lights-Out Record and a Visit Brief. Use them to log your screen time, bedtime and sleep for two weeks, and bring the record to your appointment. See the book.