Do computer glasses work? This is the question that I wanted to answer personally when I decided to purchase my pair of Gunnar Gaming Glasses. I had to try this out and see for myself if I can bring some much needed relief to my tired eyes.
I spend a ton of time in front of a computer’s monitor: I’ve been a gamer for my entire life, I work exclusively on my computer or laptop and when I take breaks, it’s usually to stare at my smartphone’s display (when I don’t have my iPad around).
And after all these years of doing the things I mentioned above, I’m starting to have more and more eye-related problems: dried eyes, general fatigue or “just” eye fatigue, difficulty to fall asleep, headaches… I’ve got them all and I’ve been struggling with these symptoms for a while now.
It doesn’t matter if you work, if you play some relaxing games that aren’t (in theory) so bad for the eyes or a fast-paced shooter: your eyes will still get to suffer. And the more time you spend in front of the screen, the worse it will be.
While my eye drops are making a difference now and taking regular breaks does help a bit, just like switching to a no blue light ebook reader does, I am still spending a ton of time in front of a screen that bombards my eyes with that unhealthy blue light.
And these gaming glasses (aka computer glasses) claim that they’ll make your life easier. So I picked a pair of Gunnar gaming glasses and decided to see if they work or not.
In today’s article I’m sharing my review of the Gunnar Gaming Glasses that I’ve now been using for years. This article might help you become a bit happier and your eyes better… so read on to find out why!
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How do computer glasses work?
In case you don’t know what gaming glasses (aka computer glasses) are, we’ll start with details about them: these are specifically designed glasses for those who spend a lot of time in front of the computer.
They’re called “gaming glasses” or “computer glasses” and they have one main purpose to be created: they fight against eye fatigue, eye strain and all the bad effects we feel after spending hours in front of an LCD display, be it a computer or laptop monitor or the display of our tablet or phone or any other type of device that uses blue light.
So even though they are sometimes called “gaming glasses,” they are actually not just for gamers – and they are helpful to all individuals, no matter if they spend a couple of hours or most of the day in front of a computer’s screen.
These glasses help by reducing most of the harmful blue light emitted by our displays – they do so thanks to a special technology and coating of the lenses that simply reflects this blue light away, protecting your eyes. Many of the better made glasses (such as the Gunnars) also increase on-screen contrast, delivering a clearer and cleaner image.
These are glasses that you can and should wear even if you don’t need prescription glasses (actually, if you need prescription glasses, you might need to order yours from an optician).
For example, I don’t have prescription glasses, so the pair that I have (like most sold online) have no diopters, meaning that they don’t enlarge the image – which would actually be bad and harm your eye on the long term.
After doing a lot of research online, I decided to give the Gunnar glasses a try. There are many brands available out there – some more expensive than others, but I personally decided to choose the Gunnars.
There are different models available for purchase, but I went for the cheapest option, the Gunnar Intercept. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter what model you choose as they are all made using the same technology – it’s just a matter of personal preference.
I had never tried gaming or computer glasses before and I was very skeptical. “There’s no such thing as glasses that keep your eyes from getting tired,” I kept saying to myself…
But I was wrong!
As soon as I received the package, opened it and put the glasses on, I felt the difference. I simply couldn’t believe how I felt and how everything looked a lot better on my computer’s screen.
It could’ve been Placebo (even though I wasn’t putting much trust in them in the first place), but as soon as I put my Gunnar glasses on, my eyes felt better. I almost heard them saying “Thanks!”.
It was like your muscles instantly relax when you start getting a massage. Like you feel when you get into the shower and the warm water hits your skin. It was pure pleasure and I couldn’t believe it.
Of course, this didn’t mean that the symptoms went away instantly. My eyes were still just as tired and dry. But after a few hours of working while wearing my new Gunnar Intercept glasses, I was feeling better. I was feeling different. I felt that something was changing.
My eyes didn’t get more tired as the hours went on and I felt, overall, a slight improvement overall. However – and probably because my eyes were more tired than most on this planet – it took me about a week to actually feel a big difference and have my eyes as close to completely relaxed as possible.
I have now been wearing the same pair for almost 3 years and I can’t say that all the bad effects are 100% gone. However, I feel much better than before and there was a major improvement that I felt after the first couple of weeks of using them regularly.
You see, before I started using them, I was feeling really bad and it got worse with each passing day. I had days when I literally felt like I was a zombie. I was feeling miserable, tired, I was always grumpy as a result and I knew things weren’t going in the right direction.
Today, I am tired as well. My eyes are tired. I still get the occasional headache. But I guess that’s normal, when you spend almost the entire day staring at one screen or another. And I am sure that if I hadn’t bought these computer glasses, I would’ve been in a much worse state. I say that because I’ve been there and now, thanks to them, I no longer am.
The Gunnar glasses are AMAZING!
The frames are made of what I think is plastic, but it’s very light and you can barely feel them when you wear them. I never wore glasses in my life and I got used with them in just a few seconds.
They don’t look cheap and they seem incredibly durable as well. I’ve had mine for almost three years now and there are no scratches on the lenses, no loose bolts, no problems. While I only wear them when I work, I did take them with me in various trips and I had no problems with them. Absolutely nothing.
What is even better is the fact that the frames themselves seem to be specifically made to work with large over-ear headphones: you can wear a pair for a few hours without feeling any discomfort caused by the glasses.
I love the fact that the lenses are big: I don’t want to see the lenses when I work and most of the time I won’t. Probably due to the position of my computer’s screen relative to my office chair, the bottom frame and a bit of the sides can be spotted, but it’s not much, nor annoying.
I did try a pair of glasses with smaller lenses and it was much worse, so you have to appreciate the large lenses – and consider this an important tip if you want to buy a pair: make sure that the lenses are big!
The lenses themselves are of really high quality as well and after three years of using them, there are no scratches on their surface. I took good care of them, that is true, and always cleaned them with a cloth made specifically for glasses, but I still can say that they are very durable.
They have a slight amber tint which does change a bit the way you see colors on your screen, but I don’t really consider it a con or a big deal. I actually like that the reds and yellows look better, while the strong white and blue are gone – you will see what I mean after wearing them for a while and taking them down: you’ll feel as if somebody’s shoving a flashlight into your eyes (yes, that’s what your eyes have to endure when you’re not wearing computer glasses!)
If you are working with colors a lot, they might make things a bit more difficult as they do alter them (as you can see in the image above), but for most people out there who don’t really do photo or video editing, that will not be a problem. Plus, you get the extra boost in contrast, which makes everything a lot easier to read or follow on-screen.
If I really want to find something to complain about regarding the Gunnar Intercept glasses that I am wearing, I can. First comes the fact that they seem to draw a bit of the dust in the room on the lenses: most times I look at them I see small specks of dust on my lenses.
It’s not something that interferes with my vision when I wear them, nor something that I notice unless I take them down and carefully check the lenses, but the specks of dust are there (until I clean them with my special cloth). Probably, though, this is something that happens to all glasses out there.
Which brings me to the second potential baddie: even though the Gunnars are not the cheapest gaming glasses on the market, they are delivered without at least a cloth for cleaning them, which seems a bit strange.
There are models out there selling for half or even less of the price of the Gunnar glasses that come with a cloth for cleaning. Again, not a big problem as you can easily buy one for cheap… but it had to be mentioned.
However, these cons are minimal in my opinion – especially when you consider all the benefits that you’re getting from these special glasses.
Conclusion
What matters the most is that the Gunnar gaming glasses really work. They make the images on the screen look better, more vivid and the contrast is indeed better as well, while your eyes won’t get as tired.
You will start feeling the beneficial effects just a few hours after putting them on for the first time, but you will notice the difference instantly. Depending on how tired your eyes were, it will take more or fewer days for them to get back to normal levels again, but solid improvements will be felt just hours after you start wearing these glasses.
However, for those who work extended hours in front of a computer, they won’t do magic. In my case, for example, I still feel my eyes tired at the end of the day and sometimes I still get headaches that I believe are caused by my tired eyes.
But I still feel much, much better than I did before getting my pair of computer glasses. At the end of the day, I am not as tired, my eyes are not as tired and I am overall happier.
I wasn’t confident about the fact that computer glasses do work – and I am not sure that they all do – but the Gunnar gaming glasses that I bought are now my best friends. And surely my eyes’ best friends as well! Click here to check them out and get a pair now.
So if you spend a lot of time in front of the computer – gaming or working – do yourself a favor and get a pair!