How many hours a day do you spend playing games? Whether you’re playing modern or retro games, most of your activities will no doubt be spent in front of a screen—a big and small. However, increased exposure to digital screens can damage your eyes.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 13 million Australians have one or more chronic eye conditions, including nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism, macular degeneration and blindness. In Optometry Australia’s 2022 survey, 88% of participants reported experiencing eye pain or fatigue when using a computer or tablet. For people with existing uncorrected vision problems, this can make vision problems even worse.
Eye health care should not be overlooked, especially for gamers. We recently highlighted some of the new Nintendo games and content coming soon. From Luigi’s Mansion 2A visual update to critically acclaimed titles such as Batman: Arkham TrilogySwitch debut, protecting your vision to enjoy these new games is essential. One such way is to invest in blue light glasses. Below, we’ll take a look at what blue light glasses are, why retro gamers might need them, and other ways to protect your eyes while gaming:
What are blue glasses?
Blue-violet light comes mainly from the sun and our digital devices, such as the screens of computers, tablets, smartphones and portable devices. Unlike other types of light, our eyes are not designed to effectively filter out blue light, which causes discomfort and vision problems when viewing digital screens for extended periods of time.
Investing in blue light glasses can help protect your eyes from gaming devices, including smartphones, laptops and handheld consoles. Blue light lenses, such as OPSM BlueGuard® lenses, can be fitted to existing glasses and prescriptions. Other blue light lenses, such as Invisibles® Blue, also have an anti-reflective coating that resists smudges, scratches, dust and water.
Blue light glasses also come in a variety of shapes and forms, so you can choose a subtle design that can be worn daily in and out of gaming sessions, or opt for a more gaming-focused design to complement your gaming ensemble.
Are retro games bad for the eyes?
Nowadays, most video games are played on LED screens that emit blue light. If you’re wondering if old retro gaming devices are bad for your eyes too, the answer is yes. While older monitors such as CRT displays do not emit the same level of blue light as LEDs, they still emit some radiation that can harm the eyes. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, CRT monitors can cause more eye stress than today’s flat-screen displays. This is especially important for retro enthusiasts who still use CRT monitors to capture the retro feel of old games.
CRT monitors are also known for their constant flicker, which simulates frame rates and makes animations in 8-bit and 16-bit games smoother. This flickering can cause dizziness and lightheadedness with prolonged exposure.
Even if you don’t play on an old CRT monitor, you can play on smaller screens and portable devices, emulating your retro games. While this is fine for short-term use, viewing a screen at a lower resolution for extended periods of time can cause squinting and headaches, and forces you to lean closer to the screen than necessary. Therefore, wearing blue glasses can help protect your eyes and vision while playing retro games.
Other ways to protect your eyes while playing
Finally, in addition to blue light glasses, there are other things you can invest in to protect your vision health in the long run. Some people opt for backlights or monitor light strips to ease the lighting situation while gaming. This is especially useful for people who spend hours playing in dark or dimly lit rooms.
You can also choose ergonomic chairs so that you can keep a safe distance from the screen while playing. Brands like Herman Miller offer sleek and elegant chairs for everyday use, as well as gaming chairs that combine gamer-friendly aesthetics with science-backed ergonomics and functionality.
Gamer or not, each of us must take care of our eyes and body.