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. 2022 May;39(5):653-664.
doi: 10.1080/07420528.2021.2021229. Epub 2022 Jan 4.

Spectrophotometric properties of commercially available blue blockers across multiple lighting conditions

Brooke J Mason  1 , Andrew S Tubbs  1 , Fabian-Xosé Fernandez  2 , Michael A Grandner  1
Affiliations

Spectrophotometric properties of commercially available blue blockers across multiple lighting conditions

Brooke J Mason et al. Chronobiol Int. 2022 May.

Abstract

Lenses that filter short-wavelength ("blue") light are commercially marketed to improve sleep and circadian health. Despite their widespread use, minimal data are available regarding their comparative efficacy in curtailing blue light exposure while maintaining visibility. Fifty commercial lenses were evaluated using five light sources: a blue LED array, a computer tablet display, an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent overhead luminaire, and sunlight. Absolute irradiance was measured at baseline and for each lens across the visual spectrum (380-780 nm), which allowed calculation of percent transmission. Transmission specificity was also calculated to determine whether light transmission was predominantly circadian-proficient (455-560 nm) or non-proficient (380-454 nm and 561-780 nm). Lenses were grouped by tint and metrics were compared between groups. Red-tinted lenses exhibited the lowest transmission of circadian-proficient light, while reflective blue lenses had the highest transmission. Orange-tinted lenses transmitted similar circadian-proficient light as red-tinted lenses but transmitted more non-circadian-proficient light, resulting in higher transmission specificity. Orange-tinted lenses had the highest transmission specificity while limiting biologically active light exposure in ordinary lighting conditions. Glasses incorporating these lenses currently have the greatest potential to support circadian sleep-wake rhythms.

Keywords: Circadian rhythms; blue blockers; blue light; delayed sleep phase; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Experimental setup depicting the arrangement of the light source, lenses, cosine corrector, spectrometer, and computer output. Image created with BioRender.com
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The spectral irradiance of light penetrating each lens tint with 95% confidence bands (shaded areas) across the visible light spectrum for each light condition. Reflective blue lenses had the highest light transmission across the visual spectrum under all lighting conditions, while red lenses had the lowest transmission within the circadian-proficient range.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A scatterplot showing the percent transmission of circadian-proficient light (y-axis) as a function of total light transmitted (x-axis). Lenses in the bottom righthand quadrant had greater total light transmission without increasing circadian-proficient light transmission.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Boxplots of transmission specificity for each lens group by light source, with individual glasses overlaid. Orange- and red-tinted lens groups had the highest transmission specificity, while reflective blue tinted lenses had the lowest specificity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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