BlueBlockers For the Win

This year, I have had to spend more time than ever in front of a screen due to COVID-19 and the way it has changed the school system. Originally, only two of my classes involved looking at a screen and I rarely had online homework. Now that all of my classes have been switched to online I am spending about twelve hours a day staring at a screen. And because of this I have begun to get bad headaches.

I decided to look into the reason why my computer was causing me headaches. And it turned out that it was because of the blue light that computers give off. Blue light is one of the colors that can be seen by humans on the visible light spectrum. It can cause fatigue, sleepiness, eyestrain, and headaches.

A way to correct this problem is to buy a pair of blue light glasses. Blue light glasses are a type of glasses made with the purpose of filtering out the harmful blue light. Blue light glasses can be made with or without prescriptions. However, the one’s with prescriptions cost a bit more. So I decided that I would invest in a pair. However, at first, I had to admit I was a bit skeptical. Would they really work? How can I trust that these would be legit? And where can I find a quality pair? 

But my headaches were getting worse and I decided to give in and buy a pair. And I was really pleased with the results.

Almost instantly when I noticed a difference when I put the glasses on. I took out my phone (because blue light also comes from phones) to test out the glasses and they made it easier for me to look at my phone. I got really excited and couldn’t wait to try them on at my computer, the source of all my headaches. 

And to my delight the blue light glasses had the same effect as on my phone. It became easier for me to be on my computer for long hours and my headaches significantly decreased in both how many there were and how bad. I can now stare at blue light emitting screens for twice the amount of time I could before. 

I would really recommend them to any one who struggles with headaches and people who spend a lot of time looking into a screen.

BlueBlockers, What a Waste

Throughout COVID, I started having headaches quite often and my assumption was that it’s because I was always on my computer for school and other priorities. I didn’t feel the need to go to the doctors while in a pandemic so I found other ways to help. Now I’m sure you could be thinking, “oh take Advil or Tylenol,” but instead I decided to try a few tips and tricks I read online.

  One tip was that blue light glasses  are supposed to help your eyes when you’re on electronics for an extended period of time. I bought blue light glasses and at first, they were hard to get used to as I don’t wear glasses daily, nevertheless all day long. Eventually after trying them for 3 weeks, I decided that they weren’t effective since they didn’t make much of a difference whether I wore them or not.

 As I’m still trying to find a way to get rid of my headaches without using medicine, I found another tip by scrolling through TikTok one day as many people do nowadays. I saw a video of quick tips and tricks to get rid of headaches, nausea, etc; and one of them  stood out to me because it was particularly for headaches. It was said that if you rub the spot in between your thumb and index finger for a minute or so, your headache will decrease or go away. That thought kind of went to the back of my mind until one day, I had a really bad migraine with no Tylenol, Advil or water near me when I remembered that trick and I decided to try it. After rubbing in between my thumb and index finger for about a minute and a half, my migraine decreased a lot! Then I rubbed it for a minute longer and my migraine was gone, then whenever I felt my headache come back I rubbed it for about 30 seconds. Now I know this trick can sound really crazy but take it from me or try it yourself, it really works. 

Here’s where I now end my journey of looking for an efficient trick to get rid of my headaches, but don’t forget it is still important to check with a doctor for long lasting headaches/migraines or any other chronic issue.