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Is the blue light emitted by computer monitors deleterious for the human eyes? By deleterious, I mean irreversible damage.

I read some conflicting information:

http://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/vision/do-orange-glasses-block-blue-light/

Blue light isn’t harmful during daylight hours – in fact, it enhances attention, reaction times, and mood).

http://www.gunnars.com/how-they-work/ :

Cumulative exposure to artificial blue-light can contribute to vision problems such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration [...] The Vision Council: Nearly 70% of American adults experience some form of digital eye strain due to prolonged use of electronic devices.

I noticed that some pro-gamers wear orange glasses:

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    Literature about the harms of blue light (specially from LED sources) is far from conclusive at the moment. Further studies might clear it up, but so far it looks like it's not going to be solid science. Check this related link for more information: health.stackexchange.com/a/1431/5383 When presented with conflicting information from different sources, often the one to trust will be the one that isn't trying to sell you something :)
    – Variax
    Commented Sep 5, 2016 at 15:24
  • Not only LED monitors, but also LED lights emit strongly on 455 nm (blue peak). Some computer manufacturers started placing filters to reduce that strong peak, and buying LED lights with warm white color also helps to reduce the peak. This is not an answer since I don't know if the fear is justified.
    – FarO
    Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 9:46

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Is the blue light emitted by computer monitors deleterious for the human eyes?

No.

UV from the Sun (or other strong UV sources, such as germicidal bulbs) is harmful.

Blue light from a computer monitor or cellphone contains insufficient ultraviolet light to harm the eyes, the problem is that blue light causes the suppression of melatonin which affects the onset of sleep, and close up viewing and concentration on digital devices reduces the blink rate by half to one third.

The Canadian Association of Ophthalmology is more cautious in their warnings than their American counterpart, but the difference in the recommendation is that most people over 20 years old should be able to tolerate some blue light that isn't towards the UV end of the spectrum.

References:

Canadian Association of Ophthalmology - "Blue light - Is there a risk of harm?"

UK Association of Opthalmologists - "Our position on the clinical evidence and advice relating to visible blue light"

American Academy of Ophthalmology - "Should You Be Worried About Blue Light?"

American Academy of Ophthalmology - "Should You Use Night Mode to Reduce Blue Light?"

American Academy of Ophthalmology - "Computers, Digital Devices and Eye Strain"

PubSci - "Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness" (Jan 27 2015), by AM Chang, D Aeschbach, JF Duffy, and CA Czeisler.

Disclaimer: Neither Stack Exchange nor the author offer medical advice.

Some websites offer a stronger viewpoint, opposing blue light.

PreventBlindness.org's About Page discloses that some of the Board of Directors work for eyewear companies, they offer this advice: "Blue light and your eyes" while the website BlueLightExposed.com has no About webpage and offers this advice: "Blue light and macular degeneration".

Wikipedia's webpage on High Energy Visible Light is inconclusive for adults.

There are more unbiased "no" sources than "yes" sources. Blink and take breaks.

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