El Rincon del Dr. KakaWate

Different wavelengths of light affect the release of melatonin and can have deleterious effects on quality of sleep. Exposure to light at night, which can come from our electronic devices or house lights can shift the phase for melatonin rise or even resetting the time of our internal circadian clock.

Studies show that bluelight has the greatest effect on phase shifting of our circadian clock and suppression of melatonin and that is what got me interested in bluelight blocking glasses. The spectral distribution at which melatonin is affected ranged from 430-530nm, peaking at 464nm but going on to 570nm. To avoid this effect we can either shut down all electronics, turn off lights or we can choose to use bluelight blocking glasses.

I have been trying different glasses for some time and was recently contacted by Carbonshade to try their glasses and give an honest review. I mentioned to them I would gladly do so and give my honest opinion about them and here it is. (Spoiler, they are now my favorite)

There are 3 different glass colors used to block the spectrum of light that impairs adequate melatonin secretion. Yellow, Orange and Green. Having in mind that the spectral distribution at which melatonin is affected ranges from 430-530nm, peaking at 464nm but going on to 570nm. I obtained the following information and compared the 3 glasses that I used.

1) Yellow (Prospek) *60% blocking for wavelength 395nm-500nm. As you can see it is missing a significant range in the melatonin suppression spectrum.

2) Orange  (Biorhythm)   Blocks 99.82% of light 450 – 510nm range. Should be good enough scientifically speaking if the peak of suppression occurs at 464nm but there is still some remaining suppression extending to 570nm which is not covered by the orange glasses. The impact of such on individuals is likely to vary. 

3) Red (Carbonshade)   Blocks 99.9% of light  up to 570nm. Theoretically speaking, it blocks all the melatonin suppression spectrum up to 570nm

How Do I use them? I will put the glasses on at 7pm approximately, in addition all of my electronic devices have a blue light blocking app (f.lux for example) or the native blocking app in the smartphone you are using

MY EXPERIENCE WITH EACH

Prospek: Yellow ones are in my opinion useful  MOSTLY to avoid eye strain for those people working the whole day in front of computer… Cough, cough, yes it includes MDs who are now 60-70% of their time in front of a computer.  As to suppression and helping me sleep I can not say with honesty that I felt a difference.

Biorhythm: These have been the ones I have used most of the time before Carbonshade. I do feel the difference when I use them and they are comfortable. They do miss part of the melatonin suppression spectrum but I would believe they are probably good enough for most people.

CarbonShade: They sure block a lot of the light. How much? You know the feeling you get when you go outside and you have to squint because it is so bright? Well, if you put them on leave them on for 30 minutes and then take them off, the regular lighting of your home will make you squint. TV Tip: For me there is an issue with them being so dark. I like to watch the TV at night (yes I know not best thing to do regarding sleep but I enjoy it with my wife) and using them to watch HDTV is an issue for me. I like to appreciate the colors and details. So if I will be watching TV I swap them for my yellow glasses (no not the orange) and If I have been using them since 7pm swap them from 9-10pm for the yellow ones and then go to bed it does not seem to affect my sleep.

Did I sleep better? I believe so. I usually wake up at 2am and go back to sleep. With Carbonshade I had a couple of nights that instead of waking up at 2 I woke up at 3:45. What does this mean? I don’t know, i just know I felt more rested those days. I will continue testing them and see how it goes.

Quality and Price

Quality and Price for Prospek and Biorhythm is reasonable. They run around 35-45dlls in Amazon. Carbonshades are more expensive but the quality is without a doubt better and in addition they do give you an added spectrum coverage. So is the price hike worth it for you? Well that is a decision that you need to answer. For now my favorite pair is without a doubt the Carbonshade glasses and I do believe they improve my sleep.

Final Points

Could other Blue light blocking glasses work for you? No doubt.

Would I have bought the orange ones knowing that this ones work so well? No, I would have just jumped into this ones.

Is there something else I do for sleep?

YES. As someone who has been struggling with sleep for some time I have been experimenting with different methods. At the moment this is what I am doing from trial and error1) ChiliPad set to coolest setting
2) Melatonin brand NOW. Why NOW, well this is due to the fact that Over The Counter Melatonin was found to be contain 83% less to 478% more depending on the brand. NOW brand does not give me a Groggy effect.
3)I also have been experimenting with Relora 300mg tablet and GABA Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid 750mg (also NOW brand)
4)Last but not least decreasing the room temperature to 65 degrees fahrenheit as recommended by Matthew Walker in the book Why We Sleep

Hope this helps!