Blue light is a part of the visible light that can damage the retina if exposed for a long time. It’s also known that blue light emitted by a phone or computer screen can screw up your sleep cycle.
The primary color that every day we see is based on a combination of red, green, and blue, which is known as RGB. And it’s impossible to get color without the combination of two out of these primary colors. So, even though you are not seeing blue scenery, you probably have seen the combination of it a lot.
Thankfully, with the help of clever software and hardware, we can reduce the amount of blue light emitted by a phone or computer screen. That way, our eyes can suffer less and would help regulate the circadian rhythm.
Table of Contents
#1 Reduce blue light on Android smartphone
1.1 Twilight: Easy to use and provide better color temperature
Twilight is my favorite app to cut blue light at the lowest possible level. It allows you to customize the color temperature, intensity, and screen brightness. It comes with a scheduling option that automatically adjusts the exposure of light depending on the time location.
For example, during the day, the color temperature is set to be normal, but at night, it will increase red light and reduce blue light to help you sleep at the right time.
Once it is activated, the color slowly becomes warm, and the blue color is dramatically reduced. Twilight also offers a Pro version with more features. But for me, the basic option is sufficient enough.
Download Twilight on Google Play Store
1.2 Blue Light Filter: Simple configuration with pre-made color temperature
As it names, Blue Light Filter gives a simple configuration to set up. It has several color temperature modes, for instance, Night Shift, Candlelight, Dawn, Incandescent Lamp, and many more.
The app also has Notification Bar as a shortcut to disable the anti-blue light temporarily, in case you are going to watch videos, take some photos, or do any color-sensitive activities.
Similar to Twilight, Blue Light Filter is tagged as “Editors’ Choice” which means it’s one of the most recommended apps in the store.
Download Blue Light Filter on Google Play Store
1.3 Night Filter: Helps you maintain eyes’ health
Night Filter can monitor your activity related the eyes health. It has a warning notification if you have been staring at the phone for a long period of time without a blue light filter.
It also tracks eye habits with detailed daily health reports. The app was more straightforward than Twilight and Blue Light Filter but featured a reminder for users to do some exercises after using the phone.
The app claims that its screen settings could save the battery up to 15 percent for daily use. It sounds reasonable because screen dim is naturally throttled down the brightness, and eventually, reduces power consumption.
Download Night Filter on Google Play Store
Note: Activating blue light filter would affect the actual color of the screen. Turn off the app when you intend to record a video, take a photo, or capture a screenshot.
Some of those apps are capable of disabling the filter when the selected app is running. Check out the setting menu for further configurations.
#2 Reduce blue light on computer
2.1 Flux: Providing automatic color temperature based on the timezone
The most popular software for filtering a computer screen is Flux. The app is less than one megabyte in size and is memory-friendly. It runs in the background that continuously monitors the time and picks the right color temperature automatically.
I have used Flux for a couple of years, and it helps me maintain vision health while doing some productivity work.
Flux is available for a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS. Unlike Android apps, Flux doesn’t affect your computer screen color when taking a screenshot.
2.2 Night Light: Similar like Flux but bundled in Windows 10
If you regularly updated Windows 10, at least for the Creator Update version, you probably notice that Microsoft has been adding some menus on the Notification area.
The Night Light is supposed to be a blue light filter tool for Windows 10 computers. It has a scheduling system option to run autonomously based on the time situation — something that is similar to Flux.
Users are free to adjust the screen temperature from the Settings menu. I previously covered Night Light in this article. Night Light also won’t affect the color when taking a screenshot.
2.3 Using a monitor that supports blue light reduction technology
Monitor quality is getting better and better. Current technology brings vivid color and customizable filters for the monitor. But, the most important thing is the ability to reduce the blue light.
Luckily, major screen monitor manufacturers understand the demand and introducing an eye-friendly display in the past couple of years. If you planned to buy a new monitor, always consider the blue light reduction feature.
In addition, a flicker-free monitor surprisingly decreases the fatigue of eyes despite you have been staring at the monitor for like 8 hours a day.
This technology is only available on BenQ Eye Care monitors. The product itself was surprisingly getting popular in the last years and it’s available for wide-range applications, such as gaming, home, office, and professionals.
2.4 Using an anti-blue light screen protector
One aggressive approach is embedding a blue light filter onto the phone or computer screen. It set the color temperature, brightness, and screen dim with a fixed level, no matter what actual conditions have been.
This option might be right for people that were rarely using color-sensitive software and parents that won’t screen display hurt their children’s eyes.
One example from VizoBlueX Anti Blue Light Filter can cost around $65 per unit. It wasn’t cheap but it receives a lot of positive reviews. If you think it’s great for you, then you are good to go.
#3 Wear the blue-light filter glasses
The anti-blue light glasses are a healthy-stylish choice, especially for people that usually wear glasses for almost the entire day. There is a number of glasses makers creating special glasses for blocking the blue light from the computer screen.
I can’t suggest a specific brand due to the variety of glasses companies for each country.
If you are interested, please visit the nearest optic shop and ask them about the blue light filter glasses. They may offer prescription lens, which would help people that have special eyes condition.
Conclusion: It’s all great, but always take a break!
Although you were installing apps to filter the screen, adding a blue light filter screen protector, or purchasing a new monitor that helps you reduce the strain of eyes, it’s important to take a break during your heavy work.
Medical scientists advise using the 20-20-20 rule, which encourages you to take a 20-second break after 20 minutes of working, and looks at the object that is 20 feet away.
