The cast of gaming peripherals is huge, extending well beyond keyboards, mice, and headsets. In this market we can find the most varied products, including the so-called ” gaming glasses “, literally glasses with which manufacturers promise that we will suffer less visual fatigue, especially in very long gaming sessions, but do they really work? ? What kind of technology do they use? Let’s see it.
Gaming glasses have become increasingly popular among users, especially because there are not few eSports professionals who use them. However, is it something worthwhile? We are talking about our visual health, and the use of glasses could even be harmful since we will be putting a kind of filter on our eyes. We are going to see what this product consists of and if it really helps to suffer less visual fatigue for screen users.
How do gaming glasses work?
Screens in general, be it a monitor or a laptop computer, generate images using backlighting. Some of this light they generate is a form of ultraviolet light called ‘ blue light ‘, and although it is commonly found in sunlight, it is generated with much greater intensity on screens; This blue light has been shown to have harmful effects on the vision of the human eye, and can cause very serious damage.
This blue light has the particularity that it directly affects the cells of the macula of the eyes, the tissue at the bottom of the eyeball that is sensitive to light. The bad part is that, unlike the retina, the macula does not regenerate, and this means that the damage that we could suffer in it would be irreversible.
As there are many monitors that incorporate «Low Blue Light» technology, gaming glasses incorporate a series of filters to mitigate this radiation by blue light, greatly reducing the damage suffered by our eyes and, with this, reducing visual fatigue, avoiding dryness and even delaying AMD (Age-Related Ocular Degeneration).
Effects on vision and melatonin production
According to the manufacturers of gaming glasses, in addition to alleviating the exposure of the eyes to blue light, these “devices” help to better focus small objects on the screen, making us have to strain our eyes less. The images on a screen lack the sharp contrast between objects, unlike in real life, and therefore staring at a screen for a long period of time makes it more difficult for the eyes to distinguish objects, which could cause eyestrain and other symptoms such as itching, tiredness, headaches, and blurred vision.
The melatonin is a hormone of sleep that is responsible for telling the body it’s time to sleep. Blue light delays the production of this sleep-inducing hormone, increasing alertness and restoring the circadian rhythm (the body’s internal clock) to a later time; In other words, blue light also produces insomnia in some way.
Advantages and disadvantages of using gaming glasses
The main advantage of using gaming glasses is that they help reduce glare and tension from blue light, reducing visual fatigue and the symptoms that it generates, as well as reducing the possibility of having visual problems. These glasses generally generate a yellow tone in the vision, which helps improve image sharpness, reduces glare and helps to see colors more easily. This is especially useful in competitive first-person shooter games, as it literally helps you aim better.
Another advantage of gaming glasses is that they filter out reflections. All monitors, even those with a matte screen, have reflections from things in the surrounding area (such as a lamp, ceiling light, a window, etc.). These yellow lenses filter out these reflections and thus make the eye have to work less to focus, also improving concentration.
Finally, the third advantage of this product is that they reduce glare a lot as we have said; glare from images that are too bright causes great eye strain, increasing fatigue and causing the eyes to dry out. Wearing appropriate glasses will reduce the strain on the lights while you play, helping to reduce dryness and the propensity for headaches from it.
Unfortunately, not all are advantages, and although there are not too many disadvantages there are a couple that stand out. The first one is that like everything else, you will need some time to adapt; Whether it is that they are not comfortable for you because you are not used to it or that you have difficulty playing the same performance that you had without glasses, you have to allow time for the body and eyes to get used to it, something that can be really negative for competitive games.
It is also important to mention that, obviously, you can only wear one glasses at a time, and therefore if you are a user who wears prescription glasses, normally you will not be able to use gaming glasses “on top” of the ones you already have, and therefore this It is not a product for you (if you use contact lenses this should not be a problem, of course).
Another disadvantage of this type of product is its price, a barrier for many people in many products. The average price of quality gaming glasses is around 70 euros, and although there are quite cheaper models we do not recommend them under any circumstances because, remember, what is at stake is the health of your eyes and you should not use glasses made with cheap materials that could even be counterproductive.
Are they worth buying?
The short answer is that generally yes, gaming glasses are worth it, but it really depends on your situation and the type of gamer you are. If you are a highly competitive player and who spends many hours in front of the screen, it is definitely a product that you should consider, because spending so many hours looking at the monitor can cause serious visual problems, so it is worth putting means to avoid or at least alleviate these problems, regardless of the fact that in many cases you have to invest a lot of money in it.
Now, if you are an occasional gamer and do not spend many hours in front of the monitor, it is likely that gaming glasses are not worth the investment. It is important to note that, regardless of the type of player you are, once you get used to playing with them you will have a clear advantage over other players due to the greater color contrast. In that sense, even if you are a casual gamer, they would be worth it.
