Essilor Warns Canadians About Prolonged Exposure to Blue Light

Wednesday, August 30 2017 | 00 h 00 min | News

Back-to-school season will mean many Canadians are past vacation mode and headed back to the full-time grind at work. With this change in seasons also comes a caveat: more time spent looking at computer and digital tablet screens translates to increased exposure to blue light -the main consequence of these new visual behaviours.

Beyond chronic eye fatigue and sleep disruption, prolonged exposure to harmful blue light may affect long-term eye health and contribute to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). One million Canadians are currently suffering from AMD and this number is expected to double in the next 30 years, especially among members of Generation Z and Millennials, all born in a screen-rich world, who will have been exposed to much greater amounts of blue light throughout their lives than their elders.

Protecting Against Blue Light

Thanks to the Eye Protect System™, developed by Essilor, eyeglass wearers can now benefit from optimal protection against harmful blue-violet light and UV rays. Combining Crizal^® treatments with Varilux^®, Eyezen™+ and Transitions^® enables to block at least 45% of harmful blue-violet light indoors and up to 88% outdoors, as well as protect against UV rays.

Eye care professionals are able to advise Canadians on the best solutions for their visual health needs and lifestyle, thereby providing them with the best protection.

Reducing Exposure to Blue Light

Besides the aforementioned solutions, there are many behaviours and attitudes we can easily adopt to reduce our exposure to blue light:

• Reduce our screens’ brightness level and keep them at least 60 cm from our eyes (about at arm’s length)
• Take breaks every 20 minutes and focus on objects at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds
• Limit screen time, especially for children
• Limit screen time in the evening, especially a few hours before bedtime
• Wear polarized sun lenses like Xperio^® when outdoors (these block at least 87% of blue light); and combine these with Crizal^® to protect against UV rays.

Click HERE to read the full press release.