I know, I know, not a book review, but any of you who read on a Kindle, Nook, other e-reader, tablet, or anything with a screen may appreciate this!

I was contacted a few weeks ago by Spektrum and asked if I would be interested in receiving a pair of their glasses to review.

I read a LOT, and more than half of my reading is done on some type of electronic device. Besides reading in my free time, I also sit in front of a computer screen for 8 hours a day. I have had a problem with severely dry eyes for quite a while now. My eye doctor told me it was most likely because of the time I spend in front of a screen combined with my contact lens use and recommended some drops for me to try. Since I can only use them when I’m not wearing my contact lenses (so a little while before bed each night) they haven’t done much for me.

I wasn’t familiar with Spektrum’s glasses, so I visited their website before I agreed. The Spektrum glasses block either 50% or 99% of blue light from your device, depending on the model. They claim to reduce eye fatigue, headaches, dry eyes, and even help you to get to sleep easier. This definitely sounded like something I needed, so I agreed to check them out.

I received 2 pairs of glasses from Spektrum – the Artist and Elite models. Note – I did receive these glasses for free, but was not paid to endorse or review them.

Artist

These are the 50% blue light blocking glasses, and the ones I have been wearing all day at work, and most of the time when I pick up my phone or Kindle at home. They are surprisingly light-weight and comfortable, and I even like the style. They do impart a very slight yellow tint while wearing them, but it’s not at all unpleasant. Now for the important stuff – do they work?

I’ve been wearing them for almost a week now. I admit that at the end of day one, I didn’t notice any difference at all. At the end of day two, however, I realized that my eyes didn’t feel as dry or scratchy as normal when I left work for the day, and by day 3, I was not going through nearly as many contact rewetting drops as usual. They totally cut the glare, but don’t interfere at all with my vision. I am hooked and will be wearing these at work all the time now!

Elite

The elite glasses have a much more pronounced tint when you wear them which you would expect since they are supposed to block 99% of blue light. I have tried using the built-in blue light filter on my phone an on my kindle, but I always turn it off since the color appears way too distorted and I just can’t stand to look at it. These do have a strong tint, but I still preferred looking at my screen through these glasses rather than using the built-in filter.

I don’t normally have issues falling asleep even after reading on a screen in the evening, so I can’t say whether these glasses will help if you do. I can say that they are as light-weight and comfortable as the Artist glasses, and the slim style makes it easy to look over the top if I want to look at something other than my screen and don’t want the yellow tint.

I’d have to give these glasses a 5-star rating and highly recommend them to anyone who spends a lot of time in front of a screen. My eyes are much more comfortable after just a week of use. That means more time I can spend reading in the evening!