What Are Gaming Glasses and How Do They Work?

What are Gaming Glasses?

Wearing gaming glasses can protect your eyes while playing video games on computers or gaming systems. Many gamers and e-sports competitors spend long periods in dark rooms. The blue light from a screen can affect their eyes. 

Too much blue light can cause digital eye strain, leading to the following symptoms:

• Headaches
• Dry eyes
• Watery eyes
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light

Gaming glasses can protect your eyes using blue light filtering lenses and other features. Read on to learn more about gaming glasses and what types are best for you.

Best Gamer Glasses

There are many types of glasses for gamers. Like computer eyewear, all gaming glasses offer protection against blue light. Whether you’re a gamer or spend much time using computers, blue light glasses may benefit your eye health.

Gunnar Optiks is a leading designer of gaming and computer glasses. Their gaming glasses are specifically produced to filter and balance light while absorbing blue light from digital screens.

Many of the best gamer glasses brands offer different types of lenses. Some of the most popular gamer lenses from Gunnar Optiks include:

Amber Tint Lenses

Amber-tinted computer gaming glasses offer the best enhancement of contrast and visual performance while playing video games. They also reduce screen glare and diminish the harshest areas of the color spectrum. Amber tint lenses usually filter 65% of harmful high-intensity blue light from digital screens.

Liquet Lenses

These lenses are the ideal in-between solution for gamers who require a balanced color spectrum and artificial blue light protection. Liquet lenses block 35% of damaging high-intensity blue light emitting from video games and computer screens. 

Crystalline Lenses

These computer glasses are for graphic designers, video and film editors, and visual creatives who need an equally balanced color spectrum. The crystalline lens filters 10% of damaging high-intensity blue light from computer screens.

Here are some of the best gaming glasses brands and models available:

Best Overall: GUNNAR Intercept Amber Max Tint

GUNNAR produces the only blue light-blocking computer and gaming glasses with Patented Lens (#9417460) Technology recommended by doctors to protect and enhance your vision. 

GUNNAR developed the Blue Light Protection Factor, telling you exactly how much of the peak blue light spectrum (450nm) they’re blocking. Not all blue light glasses in the market protects you from the strongest high-energy visible light.

Best Aviator Style: GUNNAR Maverick

GUNNAR glasses eliminate distortion from impurities and haze found in inferior materials to ensure the clearest image possible. The ultralight yet durable performance optics will not degrade over time.

Best on a Budget: GUNNAR Onyx

GUNNAR glasses limit air currents near the eyes, increasing humidity and preventing irritation. The patented optical design enhances focus and sharpens detail to ease eye strain.

Best Types of Gaming Glasses

When shopping for gamer glasses, you want to look for the following features: 

Anti-Reflective Coating

Wearing glasses with an anti-reflective coating helps reduce glare. Glare is the light that reflects into your eyes) from digital devices.

Reducing the amount of glare can help:

• Make eye focusing easier
• Improving color contrast
• Potentially increasing your reaction time

Magnification

Many gamer glasses add a small magnification power to their lenses. This can help reduce squinting and digital eye strain.

Blue Light Protection

Multiple studies have linked blue light exposure with decreased melatonin levels and poor sleep quality. More studies have shown that blue light-blocking glasses help improve melatonin production. Wearing gamer glasses, especially after 6 pm, can help improve your body’s circadian rhythm and sleep quality.

Prescription Lenses

Gaming glasses can be customized to match your prescription. This allows you to wear standard prescription glasses with blue light protection. Make sure to tell your eye doctor that you plan to use your glasses while gaming.

Do Gaming Glasses Work?

Gaming glasses are similar to computer glasses. They work by countering the hue of the blue light with yellow or amber tint lenses. Clear-lens gamer glasses are available too. However, there’s debate as to their effectiveness.

Some blue light filtering glasses are virtually clear. They tend to have less protection compared to yellow or amber lenses.

But they still offer some degree of blue light-blocking properties. There are many studies on blue light-blocking glasses, and there isn’t a consensus on their effectiveness.

Benefits of Gamer Glasses

Generally, blue light glasses are known to be useful. Gaming glasses can help reduce eye strain and other effects of blue light caused by excessive screen time.

Blue light-blocking eyewear can also help encourage a normal circadian rhythm and melatonin levels. This can help you enjoy a healthier night’s rest in many ways, including:

• Falling asleep more easily
• Staying asleep throughout the night
• Enjoying a more restful sleep

Blue light-blocking glasses reduce the negative effects of light exposure by 10.6 percent to 23.6 percent. Computer glasses with yellow-tinted lenses may improve comfort while looking at screens and monitors for long periods. 

Listen In Q&A Format

Should You Get Gaming Glasses?

Vision Center Podcast

Prescription Glasses and Gaming

If you rely on prescription glasses, a few options exist when playing video games. 

Blue Light-Blocking Coating

One option is to apply blue light-blocking coatings to your daily glasses. This can help block blue light and reduce glare.

This option means you won’t require different glasses for gaming. Another benefit is that your eyes are protected, even when not gaming.

Gaming Glasses With Prescription Lenses

Another option is to choose prescription lenses when you order gaming glasses. As long as the frames are optical grade, they can fit lenses of different thicknesses.

Gaming Glasses That Fit Over Your Prescription

If you don’t want to buy new prescription specs for gaming, look for anti-glare gaming glasses that fit over your daily eyewear.  It’s possible to attempt to wear standard anti-reflective gamer glasses over regular specs.

However, some gaming glasses come in extra wide sizes to avoid scratching your prescription lenses. Clip-on gaming glasses are also available for purchase. These gaming glasses are light and easy to store.

Is Gaming Eyewear Worth It?

Gaming glasses cost around 100 dollars per pair on average. While cheaper options are available, quality gaming eyewear from reputable brands costs around this price.

Many gamers spend a lot of money on equipment. Spending money on special eyewear to protect your vision is worth it for serious gamers. Gaming glasses may seem expensive, but the benefits make the price tag worth it. 

Can Gaming Glasses Affect Performance?

Blue light-blocking glasses can take some time to get used to. Gamers may need some hours or even days to adapt to gaming eyewear. This is especially true if they’re used to playing games without them. 

During this time, gamers may find that they aren’t performing as well. However, this transition time is essential. Its length varies from user to user.

Summary

Gaming glasses can help protect your eyes while playing games for long periods. These glasses can block blue light by using blue light filtering lenses and other features.

Exposure to excessive amounts of blue light from computer screens can negatively affect your eyes. Often causing eye strain.

Fortunately, various gaming glasses can protect your eyes. Each has different lenses that can filter different blue light intensities.

Best Places to Buy Glasses

Best Overall

Warby Parker has stylish, high-quality frames at affordable prices.

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EyeBuyDirect has a wide variety of budget frames starting at $6.

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