Question: I’ve had enough sleepless nights. I’ve ordered and tested different blue light filters from your Tester kit and found Filter 1 to work best. Are there any similar screen eye protectors for iPhone and MacBooks that you recommend with filter 1 type blocker?
Answer: There are many possible solutions in addition to screen eye protectors (glasses, fit-overs, etc) that can help protect you from blue light and its negative effects on sleep. Each might be best for a different set of specific conditions, so it seems best to suggest you all possible alternatives.
Disclaimer: My interest in screen eye protectors is due to my problems with PC screen light sensitivity, discomfort glare, and headaches caused by digital screens. I am not a vision scientist nor medical doctor.
How to find blue light filters similar to Filter 1
All products (most anyway) that in terms of spectral transmission are similar to Tester Filter 1 may be found in this table on the Tester page.
Find “Filter 1 – cutoff: 525nm” in the first column (see the black arrow in table snippet below).
The products listed in rows right above and below the filter are very similar to Filter 1 in terms of spectral transmission (the more distant they are, the more different their spectral transmission characteristics). Products listed above Filter 1 are stronger blue blockers, those below are weaker.
However, note that, unless you move very far away, the differences are very small. To check on the differences you may either view each filter’s spectrogram -click on the corresponding link in the first column- or by checking columns 3-7 (circled below) where the percentages of light blocked at 400, 425, 450, 480, 525, and 570 nano-meters of light wavelength is provided (as denoted below in the row underlined in black).
Screen eye protectors for insomnia
LowBlueLights’ products are the only screen eye protectors on the market that are similar to Filter 1 (see red arrow above). They are designed specifically for those with sleep problems like yourself.
Although in the table the LowBlueLights’ screen filter looks far away from Filter 1, this is only due to the fact that there is a lot of offer in that range of blue blockers, but most of the products are glasses.
If you look closely at the % of blue light blocked you will note that LowBlueLights’ screen protectors start letting through light only above 500nm, which is quite good for insomnia prevention.
If you need a screen eye protector that blocks light 100% above 500nm (say up to 550 or 570nm) you’d have to turn to a DIY solution.
DIY alternative
An alternative which is not listed in the Tester table is the DIY solution made out of filter gels (same/similar ones as the ones used for the Tester).
If you feel like saving quite a bit by doing just a bit of work yourself, see this post for more info.
Some people who have done it are quite happy. Also, I’ve tested that touchscreen functionality is preserved with filter gels screen cover.
The best thing about filter gels is that you get a lot more choice in terms of spectral transmission characteristics than you would with existing products marketed as screen eye protectors.
Experiment (free) with a blue light app
If you haven’t done so already, you may also see if enabling NightShift, Apple’s own blue light filter app would eliminate your sleeping trouble.
Alternatively you may try a good 3rd party blue light filter app such as Iris or f.lux.
Don’t forget blue light from lighting
If in the last few hours before bedtime blue light could also be coming from lighting (presumably in your home) and not just from digital screens glasses (wraparounds) might be the best option because they will block blue light coming from all possible sources.
GLARminY 