The Best Blue Blocking Glasses for Sleep

Confused about which blue-blocking glasses you should buy?

We’ve tested dozens of pairs to narrow down the best of the best so you don’t have to keep pulling your hair out and deciding which company to trust.

How We Did Our Testing

We used our lab-grade spectrometer to take readings of a full spectrum light source before and after each lens was placed over the spectrometer.

This gave us the ability to compare each pair of glasses apples to apples.

So what did we compare? Two things…

Reducing Circadian Light

While most glasses claim they block “50% of green light” or “99% of blue light“, these claims are rather vague…

So we improved them!

Instead, we decided to use Circadian Light Reduction.

This is a metric developed by the LHRC that uses a complex weighted algorithm to determine how biologically impactful a light spectrum is to your circadian rhythm.

Since not all blue light or green light is equally impactful to the suppression of melatonin, it’s much better to use this weighed scale to determine what kind of impact a pair of blue blockers may have.

Reducing Lux or Brightness

Lux is basically a measurement of how visually bright a light source is.

Generally speaking, the more circadian light you block, the “darker” your environment will appear.

BUT.

This is not always the case.

Since the light that suppresses melatonin is different than the light that we are most visually sensitive to, some lenses can block similar amounts of circadian light but differ vastly in how dark they make the environment seem.

For example, the two lenses below each block around the same amount of lux at 8%.

felix gray clear blue blockers spectrum before and after

gunnar optiks yellow blue blocking glasses spectrum before and after

However, one clearly blocks more blue light, to the tune of 20% more circadian light.

This is really just a matter of personal preference really. If you’re doing color-sensitive work or don’t want to distort the color of your environment choose a lens with lower lux reduction.

However, if you are sensitive to light or will be in a very bright environment late at night, a higher lux reduction will be useful.

Which Blue Blocker Lenses to Pick

We’ve tested over 30 different pairs of blue blockers!

When it comes to blocking blue light at night, you’ve got three main categories to choose from:

Yellow Lenses

Yellow blue blockers block most blue light, while letting through almost all of the green light.

Examples of what yellow lenses let through:

ra optics daylight blue blockers spectrum before and after

truedark yellow blue blockers spectrum before and after

These lenses are great if you know you’ll have to drive somewhere at night and still need to see very well, or if you’re doing color-sensitive work and don’t want to distort colors too much.

Pros

Doesn’t distort colors much, making them more visually comfortable than amber or red lenses.
Can be used safely while driving at night.

Cons

Let through a significant portion of green light which can still suppress melatonin.
Still allow some blue light to shine through as well.

See recommendations

Amber Lenses

Amber lenses usually cut down on most blue and green light.

Examples of what amber lenses let through:

swanwick amber blue blockers before and after spectrum

okany blue blocking glasses spectrum before and after

These lenses are the best all around for color clarity and blue light-blocking abilities.

These are really the best of both worlds if you don’t have to drive anywhere and just need a pair for out on the town or at home.

Pros

Cuts down on more than 90% of melanopic blue and green light. light.
By letting in some green light, color clarity is still much better than red lenses.

Cons

Still let some green light through which can still suppress melatonin in some sensitive people.
Some amber lenses let through small amounts of blue light.
A bit too dark and color-degrading for driving.

See recommendations