If you've ever seen me wearing amber-yellow glasses at my computer or red glasses on the couch after dinner, you've met two of my favorite wellness tools: my Ra Optics Daylight and Sunset lenses. People ask me about them all the time, so I want to share why I love them and what the science actually says about light, sleep and your body.

How I Found Ra Optics

My blue light journey actually started back in 2017. I was health coaching in person, working under fluorescent lights all day, and spending hours on screens writing client programs and notes. I picked up a pair of inexpensive clear blue light glasses, and they were a start. But I was still dealing with headaches and extreme exhaustion by the end of the day. That says a lot coming from someone who practices what she teaches every single day!

In December 2020, I learned about Ra Optics and dove into the research behind their lenses. I was so excited that I had to try them for myself. That one small change led to big results for me, and I've been wearing them ever since.

Why Light Matters So Much

Your body runs on an internal 24-hour clock called your circadian rhythm. It controls when you feel alert, when you feel sleepy, and when hormones like cortisol and melatonin rise and fall. And the number one thing that sets that clock every day is light.

Here's the key part. Special cells in your eyes are especially sensitive to blue light. When they see it, they send your brain a message: it's daytime. That's exactly what we want in the morning. But in the evening, light from screens, LED bulbs and overhead lighting sends that same daytime signal, and research shows artificial blue light in the evening delays and suppresses melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep.

We evolved with bright sunlight during the day and firelight at night. Now most of us sit under bright LEDs and stare at screens until bedtime. No wonder so many people struggle to wind down!

My Night Routine: Sunset Lenses

The Sunset lenses are my absolute favorite. I wear the Maxwell Sunset, a sleek black rectangular frame. Ra Optics designs these red lenses to block 100% of blue and green light, the wavelengths that keep your brain in daytime mode. I put mine on just after sunset, or one to two hours before bed, especially on movie nights with my husband.

For me, the difference has been huge. I fall asleep so much faster, without the racing thoughts or tossing and turning, and my sleep feels deeper and more restorative.

The research here is encouraging, too:

1. Better sleep quality: In a randomized trial published in Chronobiology International, 20 adults wore either blue-blocking amber glasses or control glasses for three hours before bed. After two weeks, the blue-blocking group reported significantly better sleep quality and improved mood compared to the control group.
2. Help for people who struggle to sleep: A 2018 randomized crossover trial in the Journal of Psychiatric Research had adults with insomnia symptoms wear amber lenses or clear placebo lenses for two hours before bed for a week. Sleep measures and quality-of-life scores improved with the amber lenses.
3. Earlier melatonin: In a 2022 randomized controlled trial, women who wore blue-blocking glasses in the evening for two weeks saw their melatonin rise about 28 minutes earlier than the control group, with higher melatonin levels through the evening.

These are smaller studies, so evening glasses aren't a magic fix on their own. But the science behind them makes sense, and they're one of the easiest habits I've ever added.

My Day Routine: Daylight Lenses

During the day, I wear my Maxwell Daylight glasses, the same frame with amber-yellow Daylight lenses, whenever I'm working on my computer. Ra Optics designs these lenses to filter most of the blue light from screens and LEDs while still letting you see colors clearly.

Since switching to them, I've noticed a significant improvement in my focus and energy. My eyes don't feel tired or burn from screen time anymore, the headaches and end-of-day exhaustion I used to deal with are gone, and I'm more productive and efficient in my work.

I also want to be honest with you, because I think you deserve the full picture. A large 2023 Cochrane review of 17 studies found that typical blue-light filtering lenses probably don't reduce eye strain from computer use in the short term. Most of the lenses in those studies only filter about 10 to 25% of blue light, much like the clear glasses I wore for years, and much less than Ra's tinted lenses. Research on stronger daytime lenses is still limited, so I share this as my own experience rather than a promise. If you spend long days on screens, these habits pair well with any glasses:

1. Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
2. Blink on purpose: We blink much less when we stare at screens, which dries out the eyes.
3. Turn down screen brightness: Match your screen to the room so it isn't glaring at you.

Light, Blood Sugar and Your Weight

This is the part that surprises my clients the most. Light doesn't just affect your sleep and energy. It affects your metabolism, too, and that matters for anyone working on blood sugar balance or stubborn weight.

1. Artificial light at meals affects blood sugar: In a 2016 Northwestern University study published in PLOS ONE, adults who ate breakfast or dinner under bright, blue-enriched artificial light became more insulin resistant than when they ate in dim light. Insulin resistance means your body has a harder time moving sugar out of your bloodstream, and it's closely tied to weight gain, especially around the middle. The evening group also had higher blood sugar spikes after their meal.
2. Morning light timing is linked to weight: A 2014 study from the same research group found that people who got most of their bright light exposure earlier in the day tended to have a lower BMI than those whose light exposure came later, regardless of how much they ate or slept.
3. Light at night is linked to weight gain: A 2019 study in JAMA Internal Medicine followed nearly 44,000 women and found that those who slept with a light or TV on in the room were 17% more likely to gain about 11 pounds or more over the follow-up period than women who slept in the dark.

To be clear, no study has shown that blue light glasses on their own cause weight loss, and the last two studies show links rather than cause and effect. But the pattern is consistent: getting the right light at the right time supports a healthier metabolism, and getting artificial light at the wrong time works against it.

If You Have to Be on Screens in the Morning

Your body is designed to wake up with natural daylight, which kicks off your healthy morning cortisol rise and sets your clock for the day. Grabbing your phone first thing, or eating breakfast at your desk under bright LEDs, gives your body artificial light instead. Here's what I do and recommend:

1. Get outside first if you can: Even just 10 minutes of natural light before you check your email is one of the best things you can do to set your body clock for the day.
2. Wear Daylight lenses for early screen time: If you need to be on your phone or computer before you've had real daylight, especially before sunrise, Daylight lenses help soften that artificial blue light.
3. Eat breakfast by a window, not a screen: Natural light and a balanced, protein-rich breakfast are a powerful combination for steady blood sugar.

When I work with clients on energy, sleep, mood or weight, a healthy light routine is always one piece of the puzzle, right alongside nutrition, blood sugar balance, stress, movement and sleep. It's not a magic fix on its own, but it's one of the simplest, most overlooked habits that helps everything else work better.

The Most Important Light Habit: Get Outside

Here's something I love about Ra Optics' approach. Even they point out that blue light from the sun is healthy. The goal isn't to avoid all blue light. It's to get the right light at the right time.

Natural sunlight, especially in the morning, is one of the most powerful things you can do to set your circadian rhythm. It helps you feel alert during the day, and it helps your body know when to start winding down at night. So I don't wear my blue-blocking glasses outside in the sun, and I try to get outdoor light within the first hour of waking up.

My Simple Light Routine

1. Morning: Get outside for 10 to 20 minutes of natural light, ideally without sunglasses. If that feels too bright at first, start with just a few minutes and build up gradually as your eyes adjust. Your body will thank you! (And of course, never look directly at the sun.) If you need screens before you can get outside, wear your Daylight lenses.
2. Daytime: Take breaks outdoors when you can, eat meals in natural light when possible, and wear Daylight lenses during long screen sessions.
3. Evening: After sunset, dim the overhead lights, switch to warm lamps, and put on Sunset lenses for the last one to two hours before bed.
4. Bedtime: Keep your bedroom completely dark and cool, turn off the TV, and leave your phone outside the room if you can.

Light is free, it's powerful, and it affects every system in your body, from your sleep and energy to your focus, mood and metabolism. Small changes to when and how you get it can make a real difference in how you feel every day!

I highly encourage investing in quality blue light blockers like Ra Optics. Just so you know, I'm not affiliated with them (though I'd love to be!). This is purely my own experience, shared to help you feel and perform your best every day.

Have questions about building a light routine that supports your sleep, energy and goals? Reach out through my Contact page. I'd love to help!

Note: This post is for educational purposes and isn't a substitute for personalized medical advice. My experience is my own, and individual results vary. Blue-light blocking glasses are not a treatment for any medical condition and are not a weight loss product. If you have ongoing headaches, sleep problems, blood sugar concerns or eye symptoms, please talk with your healthcare provider.

References

• Burkhart K, Phelps JR. Amber lenses to block blue light and improve sleep: a randomized trial. Chronobiology International, 2009;26(8):1602-1612.
• Shechter A, et al. Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2018;96:196-202.
• A randomized controlled trial on the effect of blue-blocking glasses compared to partial blue-blockers on melatonin profile among nulliparous women in third trimester of the pregnancy. Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, 2022.
• Singh S, Downie LE, et al. Blue-light filtering spectacle lenses for visual performance, sleep, and macular health in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023.
• Cheung IN, Zee PC, Shalman D, Malkani RG, Kang J, Reid KJ. Morning and Evening Blue-Enriched Light Exposure Alters Metabolic Function in Normal Weight Adults. PLOS ONE, 2016;11(5):e0155601.
• Reid KJ, et al. Timing and intensity of light correlate with body weight in adults. PLOS ONE, 2014;9(4):e92251.
• Park YM, White AJ, Jackson CL, Weinberg CR, Sandler DP. Association of Exposure to Artificial Light at Night While Sleeping With Risk of Obesity in Women. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019.
• Ra Optics. How Our Lenses Work.