Why You Must Wear Computer Screen Glasses When Using Monitors (+9 Other Solutions)

When I was working in an office many moons ago, I used to walk home up a busy street full of billboards. It was quite a steep road with many traffic lights along the way, so it was a perfect place to advertise these billboards.

As the months went by, I started noticing that the billboards on the top of the street were becoming hard to see.

The writing was blurry and the images seemed fuzzy.

I shrugged it off at first - maybe this was a new billboard, or perhaps I was just tired.

Then one day I couldn't read one of the billboards at the bottom of the hill - this was only 15metres away from me.

At this point I knew something was wrong.

So I booked some time to get my eyes checked. I was told I had 20/20 vision, but I had some muscular issues in my eye (which was ironic as at the time I was strength training 5x a week and was rather muscular!) and this was causing the vision issues.

The optometrist asked if anything had changed in my life recently - I said I started an office job 6 months ago. Aha - it was all the time behind a screen that was causing this issue.

I went out an invested in some blue light blocking computer screen glasses, made some other changes to my monitor (all of which I reveal in this article) and started incorporating some techniques to 'exercises' my eye muscles (also covered in detail below).

Within a few weeks my vision improved and a month or two later I could clearly read the billboard at the top of the hill (a few hundred meters away).

I have always wondered how many people must have eye problems simply because they use a computer and don't know of the simple techniques and fixes that can remedy the issue.

Hopefully with this article on why you need to wear computer screen glasses - more people will see the light as I did.

Even if you dont have eye problems, but you still spend a few hours a day looking at a computer screen, you're going to benefit from this article.

The effects of screen overuse go beyond eye damage.

Technology, Computer Screens & Eye Damage

You've probably heard your mom's advice when you were young to "not to sit too close to the television". Potential eye damage was the reason for that advice.

Televisions 20-30 years ago used a different technology to what is used in screens today. Flat screens weren't even around back then and these old fashion televisions literally emitted X-ray radiation (1; 2).

And while that dangerous radiation problem is no longer an issue today, new problems have emerged with today's monitors - including computer monitors.

In this blog post, I'm going to explain why you need to wear computer screen glasses if you're regularly using a monitor. If you'd like to buy high-quality computer glasses now, click HERE.

I'll also give you several other solutions to make the time spent in front of a computer monitor healthier. And I'll teach you why computer monitors can be damaging to your eyes and brain.

Speaking of monitors, be sure to sign up to my newsletter as soon I will be publishing an article on the best computer monitors for your eyes.

The problem with computer screens and our eye is due to the type of light emitted that can damage your health. Recall that in the past, I've extensively talked about how the light in your environment is important to your health, with topics such as:

This blog post takes a similar approach.

It turns out that modern monitors - whether that's a laptop or television - are potentially hazardous to your eye and brain health.

Stay tuned to learn why.

Why Computer Screen Glasses Are Essential For Eye And Brain Health When Looking At Monitors (+9 Other Solutions)

Eye problems are extremely widespread in today's society. In South Korea, for instance, more than 70% of adults in that country experience myopia (3). Myopia is near-sightedness due to an irregular shape of your eyeballs (6; 7)

Younger generations are hit even harder. In China, almost 60-90% of high school students have myopia right now (4; 5).

Myopia levels are also on the rise in developed nations. In the US and Canada up to 50% of teenagers are now myopic (8; 9; 10). Between 1 in 4 to 1 in 3 adults have myopia as well (11; 12).

Of course, many other eye diseases exist that I've not even spoken about yet. So overall eye health is horrible right now.

And while the science is far from settled, absence of bright sunlight exposure during the daytime and excessive exposure to screens almost certainly contribute to these eye problems (13; 14; 15; 16; 17).

In other words, spending 8 hours a day in front of a computer monitor in an office can thus damage your eyes.

So let's have a look at why light can make your eyes (un)healthier.

Let's look back at our pre-technology world to help us understand how the modern environment you're living in is totally unnatural.

Why The Light In Your Environment Matters

Your ancestors have lived outdoors for thousands of years. About 10,000 years ago we entered civilization and subsequently began living in buildings (18; 19). From that time onward, your ancestors started spending more and more time inside each day.

Initially, however, even the life that your great-grandfather lived was not that different from that of your ancestors 10,000 years ago.

In the year 1900, for instance, most jobs were still outdoor jobs--except for jobs such as factory work and mining (20; 21).

From that time onward, the environment humans live in changed radically. Humans quickly began to transition to working more and more inside. And the invention of artificial light allowed for that transition to occur in the first place.

Why? Well, it was only 150 years ago that Thomas Edison invented the first light bulb that was marketable to a much broader audience. Since that time, the amount of indoor lighting has grown exponentially.

Before Edison's light bulb one would use oil or candles for indoor lighting. That indoor lighting was extremely expensive and thus limited people from spending all of their days inside.

Right now, the problem has gotten so big that light pollution is everywhere (22; 23).

What's really horrific is that the amount of light in the environment increases by about 2% per year (24). A 2% growth means that the amount of light doubles every 3 decades - give or take.

If you were born in the 1980s, the light in your environment is thus double today compared to when you were born.

Monitors and screens are partially responsible for that increase in light in your environment - especially direct exposure to the eyes.

Here's why:

The Horrors Of Screen Time

Today, we spend almost 4 hours a day in front of a computer monitor or smartphone (25). Additionally,

"adults spend more than 11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with media, according to a new study by market-research group Nielsen. That’s up from nine hours, 32 minutes just four years ago." (25).

Of that time, 5 hours is spent watching television (26).

The problem is even worse in children. Children are more susceptible to the negative health effects of screens. The following recommendations exist for children (27):

Children under 18 months old should not even use screens at all.
Up to 5 years of age, kids should only get one hour of screen time exposure max.
Above that age, screen time should be limited.

The problem? Most children spend double or up to three times as much time using screens than is healthy (28).

You may think: "oh, but screens are harmless right? What could possibly go wrong?"

Well, a lot!

Let's look at some of the horrible effects screens can have on your health:

Spending more time watching television is associated with lower levels of self-esteem in children (29).
Lowers children's capacity to focus and may contribute to hyperactivity (30; 31).
Decreases overall well-being (32).
Increase your risk of becoming overweight (33; 34; 35; 36). Moving less, sleeping more poorly, and being exposed to more junk food marketing (so that you'll eat more crap) are probable reasons why screen time makes you more prone to be fat. The light emitted by screens can also affect your blood sugar levels though - setting you up for bodyweight gains.

And the big one:

Spending more time in front of a monitor or using a tablet or smartphone also increases your risk of getting eye problems (37; 38; 39; 40).

Let's find out how:

Blue Light From Computer Screens

Look at the following picture below:

(41)

As you can see, the candles and incandescent light bulbs humans used in the 19^th century mainly emit red light.

Over time, with the increased use of fluorescent and LED bulbs, that light spectrum has shifted to the green and blue part of the spectrum.

Blue and green light are not automatically bad for your eyes and health, but in isolation, they are very damaging.

The sunlight your ancestors have spent thousands of years under has a balanced mix between infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light when it reaches the earth's surface. Your ancestors thus never got exposed to blue light alone - without the other parts of the light spectrum.

In modern artificial light, both infrared and ultraviolet light has been completely removed. Screens are based on similar technologies and are thus basically light bulbs that you're staring into for hours at a time.

So the bad news is that screens thus emit lots of blue and green light, but do not contain the infrared and ultraviolet light emitted by the sun.

Both light types have unique benefits that I'll cover later on.

It's hard to overestimate how big of a difference the change from an almost exclusive outdoor life in 1900 to an indoor life of screens is within 100 years. For thousands of years our eyes have been used to light emitted from natural sources. It's only been the last few decades when our eyes have been exposed to bright computer screens.

Your eyes are thus still attuned to living in outdoor environments--not looking at monitors and smartphones 24-7.

And it's not just blue and green exposure that's different when you're using a computer monitor. Other problems exist as well:

Screen Brightness

Most indoor environments are pretty dark, even though you don't consciously perceive them as dark.

The reason that your brain can't really tell the difference is that your eyes and brain can adapt to widely varying illuminance levels.

If your eyes are healthy, you will still be able to see perfectly both under moonlight and during a bright non-clouded day as well.

"Lux" is a measurement of such illuminance levels.

On a hot summer day, you're regularly exposed to more than 100,000 lux (91; 92). With a full moon, lux levels are only 0.1. Even though the difference may seem smaller, there's thus a 1,000,000-fold difference between the brightest days and a well-lit night.

The problem?

If you're spending all day inside, the lux levels provided by overhead lighting are only 100 - 750 lux. Overcast skies, moreover, will provide you with about 1,000 lux of lighting. With some clouds, that number increases to 10,000 lux on average.

Takeaway? Indoor environments are really dark.

The problem is that if you're sitting in front of a computer screen, most of the light entering your eyes will actually be provided by that screen. As a result, you're almost certainly going to be exposed to excessive blue and green light.

Many monitors are also set up in such a way that the light emitted from them is really bright. A better solution would be to provide healthy background lighting - an idea I'll come back to later on.

My healthy outdoor office (that I sometimes use). Follow my biohacking journey on Instagram.

Let's now consider one last example of what makes computer monitors problematic:

Monitor Refresh Rate & Flicker

There's one other way in which looking at a monitor for 8 hours a day is different from being outside: flicker.

Flicker - also referred to as 'refresh rate', is the periodically turning on and off of the light emitted by monitors. So if you've got a 60 Hertz (Hz) monitor, light will be emitted 60 times a second. And because 60 times per second is very fast, you don't consciously perceive that effect at all.

Nonetheless, your brain does perceive the difference between light sources that flicker and those that don't (93). Even flickering up to 500 times per second is still perceptible to the human brain.

The alternative to flickering is continuous light, which is emitted by sunlight. The sun doesn't turn on and off for tens or hundreds of times per second.

Scientific studies show that flicker does have an effect on your overall health and brain performance. Flicker, for example, potentially causes:

Headaches and eyestrain (94).
Changes in brain function, with neurological effects such as epilepsy as a worst-case scenario (95; 96).
Alterations of alertness and brain performance (97).
Perceiving the world differently on a visual level (98; 99). Your capacity to read well may be impacted by reading from a monitor compared to a book, for example.

Now, I'm not saying that flicker is the root of all eye damage.

Instead, flicker is one problem that may affect your health over time - especially if you're exposed for 8-10 hours a day for decades on end.

Different people also respond to flicker differently.

Some people are affected so much that they need specialized glasses to be able to read under heavy flicker from monitors or fluorescent lighting, for instance. You, on the contrary, might not notice much of a difference when you're spending all day on a monitor compared to being outside in the sun.

But now that you understand the basic concepts associated with monitors - blue light, altered indoor brightness levels, and flicker - let's look at the health consequences that can result from lots of monitor exposure:

What Is Computer Vision Syndrome And How Do Monitors Contribute?

Hundreds of millions if not billions of people now work in front of a computer monitor.

The potential end result is "computer vision syndrome". Computer vision syndrome is eye irritation as a consequence of working in front of a monitor for long periods of time (42; 43; 44).

Many symptoms can result from working on a monitor for a long time, such as dry or burning eyes, blurry vision, neck and shoulder pain, or eye damage over the long-term. Let's go over these areas one by one:

Dry Eyes And Redness

Dry eyes are actually one of the foremost reasons for seeking medical care of ophthalmologists (eye professionals) (55). The condition is called "dry eyes syndrome" or "dry eye disease" (57; 58; 59)

Working on a computer contributes to the risk of having dry eyes (53). Excessively watery eyes are also a possibility.

The catch?

Your risk of getting redness, burning eyes, or dry eyes also increases the more time you're spending in front of computer screens (54; 56). The fact that there's a direct dose-response relationship in medicine usually means that the behavior is causally responsible for the adverse health effect.

Eye drops are a solution, but I've got even better options in a later section.

Eyestrain

Surprise, surprise:

Just looking at a screen for one hour significantly increases your risk of having sore and irritated eyes (53).

Eyestrains are also frequently interrelated with headaches, which I'll come back to in a sec (60). Poor lighting in the environment makes the eyestrain even more problematic (61).

The flickering of monitors at 50 or 60 times per second may also contribute to that eyestrain (62). Recall that the sunlight your ancestors evolved under is continuous in its output while modern indoor lighting sources aren't.

There's another catch: if you're working on a monitor, you also tend to blink about 60-70% less than when working outside (87). Monitors thus seem to alter eye function at a very fundamental level, predisposing you to problems down the road.

Eye Fatigue

Looking at a monitor for 8 hours a day is really different than what your ancestors did with their eyes thousands of years ago.

Back then, you scanned far into the distance for game to hunt or berries to pick or scanned your environment. Sure, you may also have dug up some tubers from the ground and focused nearby for some time. Or you may have talked with your friends for half an hour while sitting in a circle.

The difference is that with a monitor, you may be focusing on a single point in space for 8 hours at a time - which is far from ideal for our eyes. That activity taxes the eye muscles in a very different way than how they were designed to perform.

Eye fatigue is the result of many people (63). Eye fatigue is highly prevalent, with up to 90% of people who use devices having trouble with this issue (64).

The poorer your overall eye health, the greater the risk of getting eye fatigue during long work hours (66).

Computer Monitors And Long-Term Eye Health

Despite no overwhelming amount of evidence existing, current scientific evidence does suggest that spending lots of time working on a computer increases your risk of (permanent) eye damage (56).

On the bright side, just removing the blue light exposure already dramatically reduces the damage to the retina (68). The retina is the light-sensitive part that's located at the back of the eye.

That blue light exposure also directly causes eye dryness and several eye conditions (69). "Macular degeneration" and "cataracts" are examples of such conditions.

Macular degeneration causes blindness in the center of the field of vision while cataracts is a degeneration of the lens that reduces your vision quality (70; 71; 72; 73).

Specific markers of aging such as "oxidative stress" increase the longer you use smartphones or computer monitors that emit lots of blue light (67).

Statements that "there's no evidence that blue light or monitors cause long-term eye damage" that can be frequently read online are thus misleading. The current evidence strongly suggests that damage takes place, even though studies with lots of participants for stronger conclusions do not yet exist.

I thus think it's better to be safe than sorry!

Headaches

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse: working on a monitor may cause headaches in some people (74; 75; 76)!

And it's not just poor posture that is causing these headaches. Specifically, some people have problems with the flicker of computer monitors (77; 78). Some people get migraines from just flickering light exposure, for example.

You're in luck though: in a later section, I'll tell you how to reduce the flicker of your monitor so that you'll feel better working long periods of time.

Loss of Brain Performance

Blue light is great, right? Blue light increases your wakefulness and capacity for attention (79; 80; 81; 82; 83).

Not so quick though:

Blue light overexposure for 8 hours a day is like drinking 8 big cups of coffee in a row. In the short-term, you'll feel really great and alert. In the long-term, you'll become sick and tired and your brain will perform less well.

Many people are so used to working in an office environment with monitors and artificial light putting out tons of blue light that they no longer feel what it's like to have a high-performing brain.

In nature, blue light is always paired with ample of ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light makes you feel calm and relax and thus counterbalance the blue part of the spectrum (84; 85). For that reason, you're so relaxed on beach days and not so much in the office.

Excessive blue light is thus over-stimulating (and has been shown to have a negative impact on your sleep)

Who Suffers From Computer Vision Syndrome?

Believe it or not, but lots of people experience trouble when using a computer for hours upon hours a day.

Statistics show that between 64 and 90% of computer users experience health complaints because of using monitors (45).

Even children are vulnerable to eye problems, although the risk increases as you get older. The reason for increased risk after aging is that your overall eye health and integrity of eye muscles naturally comes down over time.

So if you didn't have any problems with eye fatigue working on a monitor during your 20s and 30s, that doesn't mean you won't have any problems once you're 60 years old.

The upside is that I've got 10 possible solutions to prevent or reverse eye problems when using monitors. It's smart to get prepared rather sooner than later.

Computer Screen Glasses And 9 Other Solutions For Healthy Eyes And Brain Function

Below I'll give you 10 strategies to avert eye problems when using monitors. I'll start with the most important option:

1. Computer Screen Glasses

Everyone loves a magic pill. It doesn't matter whether that magic pill helps you lose fat, think better, or cures your insomnia.

No matter what your problem is, magic pills are rare because solutions to a problem usually depend on a context and are complex.

But not in this case.

If you're using computer monitors frequently, or other devices that emit lots of blue and green light, there is a magic pill. Computer screen glasses, in fact, are that magic pill:

Source - Swanwick Sleep code FERGUS saves you!

As you can see, these glasses look like normal glasses but they're not. The lens used in these glasses are actually non-prescription (although you can order prescription variations as well).

The special lens of these computer glasses filter out part of the blue light that enters your eyes from a computer monitor.

Remember that not all blue light is bad as sunlight emits blue light as well. What's damaging, instead, is excessive isolated blue light exposure during the daytime.

Wearing computer glasses is a must if you're working in front of a computer multiple hours a day. And yes, I'm wearing mine as I type this.

The benefit of high-quality computer glasses is that you're still able to see very well and perform visual tasks on your computer, all while reducing blue light exposure to your eyes (47). So even if you're a video editor or graphic designer, there's no excuse to expose yourself to excessive blue light during when working in an office.

Speaking of that office, there's another issue:

Remember that modern LED and fluorescent lighting also predominantly emits blue light. And while the subsequent strategies I'm treating in this section allow you to set up your monitor to be less damaging to your health, overhead artificial light will still have a negative effect if you're not wearing computer glasses.

For most people working in an office, these daytime blue-blocking glasses are thus a must-have.

Let me remind you that you don't just need to wear computer screen glasses to protect your eye health--excessive blue light exposure also makes you tired, decreases your thinking capacity, and dehydrates you.

And although not all scientific studies are positive towards wearing computer glasses (48)-- most of them are (49; 50; 51; 52). There's thus no excuse to avoid this magic pill.

Takeaway: wear computer screen glasses (a.k.a. daytime blue-blocking glasses) to protect your eyes, brain performance, and energy levels. Be sure to use discount code FERGUS to save on your Swanwick Sleep day time blue blocker glasses.

2. Computer Screen Protectors

Blue light blocking coating - or blue light filters - can be an amazing tool to cut down on blue light exposure if you're using a monitor.

Such screen protectors are also available for smartphones, televisions, and tablets nowadays. You can get a screen protector HERE.

Screen protectors have the downside of not protecting you against any harmful artificial light indoors. So if you're working 8 hours a day under LED or fluorescent lights that look really blue, you're still doing yourself a disfavor by not wearing the blue-blocking glasses I've mentioned before.

Takeaway: Computer screen protectors can remove some of the harmful blue light that damages your eyes and makes you tired.

3. F.lux And Iris Software

Two pieces of software have emerged in the last few years that dramatically improve your health when you're using a monitor all day long.

The first software program, called f.lux, allows you to lower the amount of blue light emitted by your screen. Recall that lots of monitors - when using the default settings - emit about 2-3 times as much blue light as they do in the yellow, orange, and red part of the spectrum.

F.lux fixes that issue.

The second piece of software, named Iris app, not only allows you to remove blue light but can also reduce the intensity of the flicker you're exposing your eyes to. The benefit is keeping your eyes healthier while massively enhancing your brain's performance. I recommend Iris over f.lux and it's what I run on my computer.

Iris supplies you with many other options, including:

Programmed eye breaks. Looking away for 30 seconds (preferably into the distance) after every 30 minutes of monitor work prevents some of the negative health effects (86).
Inverting colors. Working on a mainly white screen is totally different from working on a mainly black screen that has a white font. The latter option almost certainly reduces overall eye strain, although no studies can back that claim up (yet).
Different types of font rendering. If the contrast between the signs typed on the screen and their background is really big, it's much easier to read than if the contrary is true. Black letters on a white background, for example, are much easier to read than grey letters on a white background. By manipulating font rendering Iris app makes reading for long stretches of time much more eye and brain-friendly.
Adjustable colors and magnification. These options are golden if you're color blind or have vision problems.

You can install a free version of Iris that allows you to reduce blue light during the day (but won't lower your exposure to flicker).

Nonetheless, the free version can still be golden for improving your overall health.

Takeaway: Install Iris app on your computer to reduce the negative effects of flicker and make your screen more readable.

4. Countering Dry Eyes With A Desktop Humidifier

If you're having lots of trouble with dry eyes, using a desktop humidifier can reduce your symptoms (46).

Humidifiers simply make the air that you're breathing and that interacts with your eyes less dry.

Objective measurements of eye health increase by using a humidifier (46).

Takeaway: use a humidifier if you're struggling with dry eyes.

5. Monitor And Desk Ergonomics

Setting up your workspace is a true life-saver for reducing eyestrain and posture problems.

One key to reducing eyestrain is to ensure that the top of the monitor is located at the height of your eyes (65). If the top of the monitor is either placed much lower or higher than your eyes, the muscles in your eyes have to work overtime and you'll dramatically increase the risk of fatigue.

Sitting close to a window also helps to keep your eyes and brain functioning optimally--but it should be done correctly.

In general, it's also smart not to have your monitor directly face sunlight or to have lots of sunlight exposure from behind. The first scenario ensures that you're looking into the bright light for long periods of time, increasing the risk for eye damage. The second scenario makes it really hard to focus on your screen, increasing eye fatigue and dryness.

Your best option is to ensure some sunlight enters your room from the sides.

If you're working outside, put your laptop inside a box so that sunlight is prevented from directly shining onto your screen. Doing so makes it possible to read on your monitor even though it's very bright outside.

It's also possible to buy flicker-free monitors, which only reduce flicker in reality. If you're interested sign up to my email list as I'll be writing an article on this very soon. "Flicker-free" monitors actually flicker much quicker, which makes the changes less noticeable for the eye and brain.

Takeaway: to improve posture, the top of the monitor should match your eye height. Buy a "flicker-free" monitor to reduce eye strain as well.

6. Eye Strain Relief Exercises

Again, just getting away from a monitor once in a while has dramatic overall benefits to your eye and brain health.

Every 20 minutes, look away for 20 seconds into the distance. Or every 30 minutes, look away for 30 seconds.

It's best to combine these visual exercises with movement. Sitting all day is devastating to your overall health, making you fat, increasing your speed of aging, and upping your disease risk (87; 88; 89; 90).

Takeaway: take a quick break every 20 or 30 minutes to help your eyes relax. Focus on looking into the distance.

7. Get Morning Sunlight Exposure

This tip is really simple:

Exposing your eyes occasionally to lots of bright light keeps them healthy long-term. While counterintuitive for some people, ultraviolet light can specifically protect you against myopia, for example (100; 101).

Remember that monitors don't emit any ultraviolet light, so you're missing out on that benefit if you're staying inside all day.

There's also evidence hinting that having no bright light exposure at all increases your risk for several eye diseases (102; 103; 104). By sitting inside all day long, under just 200 or 500 lux, many people are thus damaging their eyes. Now you know why 60-90% of people in some countries have myopia.

Oh yeah, read my blog post about morning sunlight as well if you'd like to learn more.

Takeaway: get some morning sunlight exposure for countering the downsides of working on a monitor 8 hours a day.

8. Circadian Rhythm

While this area has not been exhaustively researched yet, lots of evidence is hinting at circadian disruptions increasing the risk for eye problems (109; 110).

The "circadian rhythm" is the 24-hour clock inside your body that mainly functions on light in your environment. Light and darkness tell your body it's daytime or nighttime.

The problem is that by using monitors - or tablets and smartphones - at nighttime, you're at even greater risk for eye problems.

There's a simple solution though: wear orange-tinted blue-blocking glasses at nighttime. Orange-tinted blue-blocking glasses block out all blue light, thereby simulating darkness for your brain and eyes.

Takeaway: if you're working on a monitor at nighttime, get blue-blocking glasses that block all blue light. The glasses should be tinted orange.

9. Eat well

Overall, your diet does influence the risk of getting eye diseases. Carotenes, a plant source of vitamin A, is highly protective of the eye for instance (105; 106). Zinc, secondly, also protects the retina - the part that receives light in the back of your eye, before transmitting the signal to the brain (107; 108).

I'm not overcomplicating this tip too much: if you're eating like crap, you won't just increase your obesity risk you'll also yourself up for decreasing eye health.

I've written a lot about eating healthy food before, and if you'd like to master that topic, check out my program.

Takeaway: eat healthy to protect your eyes.

10. Light Up The Room With Healthy Artificial Light

This strategy is really simple: include some more high-quality light in your environment.

Open up your windows to let more sunshine enter the room, or use healthy artificial lights.

No LED or fluorescent bulbs allowed.

The healthiest artificial light sources are incandescent and halogen bulbs. Though some people have a Sauna Space Photon on their desk to boost red light levels - balancing the high levels of blue light present in their office. This is something I am personally considering doing.

Just set up a few bright (red or full spectrum) lights near your working station. The more high-quality light in your environment, the less eye strain you'll experience while working (61).

Takeaway: if you've got a home office, use halogen or incandescent light bulbs.

Closing Thoughts: Managing Monitor Usage Is A Low-Hanging Fruit In Improving Your Health

I've spoken a few times about taking a magic pill for improving your health. Sometimes a very small adjustment can have massive benefits to your health.

I learned that lesson the hard way when I changed from training 6 days a week for 2 hours a day to a 15-minute workout once a week.

My results didn't even decrease after that drop in training time.

The same is true for taking some time to set your monitor up correctly: if you reduce blue light and flicker during the daytime and make sure you get regular breaks, the amount of quality work you can deliver each and every day can go up 2 or 3-fold.

These benefits are your magic pill. So get some blue-blocking glasses for the daytime and/or Iris app and boost your eye health and brain performance today!

Update: Hack Your iPhone For Lower Blue Light Exposure Biohack

Want to lower your blue light exposure when using an iPhone or Android? Check the following video:

Items Mentioned:

Swannies Blue Light Blocking Glasses - use discount code FERGUS to save
Blue light blocking screen protector
Iris app
Humidifier

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This blog post was written by Alex Fergus. Alex is a ISSN Sports Nutrition Specialist, Fitness Professional and certified Superhuman Coach who continues to expand his knowledge base and help people across the world with their health and wellness. Alex is recognized as the National Record Holder in Powerlifting and Indoor Rowing and has earned the title of the Australian National Natural Bodybuilding Champion. Having worked as a health coach and personal trainer for over a decade, Alex now researches all things health and wellness and shares his findings on this blog. Learn more about Alex's Credentials HERE.