Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

This month, we have a review and giveaway in one. Swanwick has provided us a pair of Swannies blue light blocking glasses to try out as well as a Day & Night bundle for one of our readers.

Swannies reading glasses with box, pouch and cloth

Swanwick was founded in 2015 by two sleep-deprived brothers over in Australia. They learned that the blue light emitted from electronic devices wreaks havoc on the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep patterns. That’s when they set about designing and producing a range of fashionable eyewear that blocks out the offending blue light.

Justin working on a laptop wearing his Swannies reading glasses

I’ve long been an advocate of blue light blocking glasses, this time it was Justin’s turn to give them a go.

Close-up of Justin's face while wearing his Swannies reading glasses

He’s been wearing off-the-shelf reading glasses for a few years now, so we requested a pair of 2.50+ daytime blue light blocking glasses to test drive.

Profile of Justin's face showing an arm of the Swannies reading glasses

When the package arrived and he ‘unboxed’ his new specs, he was very impressed by the initial look of them. They’re very well made and have a real quality feel – robust, without feeling heavy. He finds them very comfortable to wear, even after long periods of use.

If you spend a good deal of time working at a computer, playing computer games, reading e-books, scrolling on your phone or watching TV, you’re probably exposing yourself to excess blue light.

Even if you don’t need to wear vision-correcting glasses, you can benefit from wearing Swannies. They’re available with both magnification and non-magnification blue light filtering lenses. They’re also available in kids’ sizes too!

Day & Night Swannies bundle from Swanwick

To be in with a chance to win a Swannies bundle of your choice, tell us in the comments section below how many hours per day you reckon you spend on or looking at electronic devices.

A Swannies bundle from Swanwick

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Taking better care of your eyes

Taking better care of your eyescredit

It goes without saying that the eyes are a hugely important part of your wellbeing and your overall health. If you find that you’re not sure whether you’re really looking after them, you might need to look into what you can do to improve that situation. As it happens, there are so many things that you might need and want to do in order to ensure that you’re taking proper care of your eyes. In this post, we’re going to discuss what some of these might be, so that you can enjoy healthier eyes and the benefits they bring.

Eye test chart

Regular visits to the optometrist

The single most important thing you can do for your eye health is to see an optometrist regularly. Ideally, you should go to them at least once every two years in adulthood, and perhaps once a year if there are any underlying issues that you might need to watch out for; perhaps because of your genetics, or if the optometrist recommends it for whatever reason. Sometimes, they might even recommend that you go once every six months or more.

If you fail to visit the optometrist often, then your eyesight could be worsening rapidly without you being aware of it, and left untreated, that could lead to serious issues. Your eyesight is only going to get worse with age, so you need to stay on top of it and visit the optometrist as necessary. See https://www.arizonaretinalspecialists.com for more.

Man wearing eye glasses to work at a laptop

Wear your glasses if necessary

If you do have a prescription of any kind and you’re told that you need to wear eyeglasses, then you should make sure that you do wear them. Forgetting to do so could cause you some distinct problems, and you might find that you’re much less likely to maintain your vision at that level for as long. In some cases, you could even be harming your eyesight by not wearing your glasses when you’ve been told you should. Of course, some glasses are only to be worn while driving or reading, but others are for all the time, so you should ask your optometrist which it is and make sure you’re wearing them whenever you should be.

When you first get glasses, you might find that they’re uncomfortable or that you don’t enjoy wearing them. You can however, mitigate this by choosing a pair of eyeglasses that fit you well, and which you’re happy with in terms of comfort. Going to the likes of https://www.eyeglasses.com should help you with that, and you should find that you can get glasses that look great too – an added bonus.

Eye strain

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Avoid eye strain

One of the major causes of eye problems is eye strain, that you might be experiencing every day without even knowing it. If you spend your day sitting at a screen for hours at a time, then you’re undoubtedly straining your eyes, whether it feels like you are or not. In order to mitigate this, you should make a point of taking mini-breaks away from the screen. Essentially, this just means that you look away from the screen every twenty minutes or so for a minute; and, if you can, try to look as far into the distance as possible during that time. This is perfectly acceptable as a means of stopping eye strain, and it is something that you should make a normal part of your daily working routine as soon as possible.

Sleeping

Get more sleep

If you struggle to get enough sleep, believe it or not, this can actually have a direct effect on your eyes. That’s because sleeping enough is related to being able to see clearly, and if you’ve not slept well the night before, your eyes are going to have to work harder, and you could end up straining them. That might not be too much of a problem the one time, but if you’re doing it every day, that could be a problem for your eyes long-term.

Get more sleep, and you may see that your vision appears to improve, especially if you’ve been going without much sleep on a regular basis.

These tips are great ways to look after your eyes, if you begin following them straight away and regularly, you’ll see and feel an improvement in no time.

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What staring at a screen all day can do to your health

A pair of Ray-Ban glasses with digital blue light protection lenses from EyeWearThese with MacBook, iPad and iPhone

If I work out the number of hours per day I spend staring at a screen it’s shocking. Working at a laptop day & night, checking my phone for messages a few times per day, watching films or binge watching box sets at night, I’d hazard a guess at around 12 hours per day… every day of the week.

Yes, I know about taking a screen break every 20 minutes – but, if I’m perfectly honest, I only do it if I go to make a cuppa or go to the loo! I know I’m straining my eyes (they’re often dry and gravelly) and I know it’s affecting the quality of my sleep. I had my biennial eye test this month and yes, my eyesight has deteriorated… again!

A pair of Ray-Ban glasses with digital blue light protection lenses from EyeWearThese

So, when EyeWearThese offered to send me a pair of prescription glasses with digital blue light protection to review, I didn’t need convincing – it would be good for my health! I chose a pair of fashionable Ray-Ban frames; they have a large range of other brands available – including Armani, D&G, Oakley, Prada and Versace. As well as the digital blue light protection coating, the lenses have a scratch-resistant hard coat and a hydrophobic coat that makes them easier to keep clean!

When my glasses arrived I was really impressed, the coated lenses look practically identical to ‘ordinary’ versions; there’s an almost imperceptible blue tinge if you hold them up to the light. These special lenses filter out the damaging blue light that’s emitted by screens, fluorescent and LED lights. The younger you are, the more of this blue light that’s transmitted to your retina. I’m 50, and have been regularly staring at a screen for, give or take, 25 years – half my life so far. Imagine the damage that will be done to someone who’s half my age and has been staring at multiple screens since year dot!

Me wearing my new Ray-Ban prescription glasses with digital blue light protection lenses from EyeWearThese

Even if you don’t ‘need glasses’, if you’re glued to your smart-phone/computer/television/games console for any length of time, a pair of specs with non-prescription lenses with a digital blue light protection coating is highly recommended. In addition, use an app like Fl.ux on your computer and enable Night Shift on your iPhone (Settings→Display & Brightness) or install an app like Blue Light Filter on your Android device.

How long do you think you spend staring at a screen each day? Does it worry you or are you trying to cut down?

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