need "sunglasses" for my office

February 12, 2018 7:45 AM

i need sunglasses to stare at my computer screen because my office is insanely bright.

while seated at my computer screen I am facing due south in florida and in my line of sight: full wall to wall floor to ceiling windows, wrapping around behind me; water, pool, bright white concrete, behind me (is a white PVC fence which reflects sun for most of the day too) in short it's REAL bright in here.

so sometimes i wear my regular sunglasses (ironically found through another askme). is there something better? i feel like these have kinda crappy lenses with distortion etc. I can't seem to come up with the right google term for "sunglasses for staring at a computer screen in a very brightly lit room. i thought of just buying some polarized sunglasses with higher light transmissivity but... ya know. is there some science?

posted by chasles to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (14 answers total)

At risk of stating the obvious, is it possible to rearrange the room or get a shade (pull down or adhesive) for the window? Maybe a shoji-style screen in front of the window? This sounds awful.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:49 AM on February 12, 2018

Response by poster: not thread sitting. but i should have stated this. no, it is not possible. the room is essentially wrapped 100% with windows and is the only place for an office (my home). i tried rotating but then the screen was washed out almost completely.
posted by chasles at 8:02 AM on February 12, 2018

I get light-triggered migraines from harsh office lighting in winter and I have a pair of these. They help a lot.
posted by terretu at 8:07 AM on February 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I saw Gunnar glasses on Shark Tank last night. According to the guy, they block sixty-five percent of blue light. Don't know if they'd help much for direct or reflected sunlight, but just thought I'd share since they are fresh in my mind.
posted by Fukiyama at 8:11 AM on February 12, 2018

You might be damaging your eyes by working in such an area. You should talk to an eye doctor about protective eyewear.
posted by soelo at 8:17 AM on February 12, 2018

Sunglasses are a good idea, as dark as possible. You can get tinted window film, which would also reduce AC costs, blinds, shades, and/or a screen. Or, you know, curtains.
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posted by theora55 at 9:03 AM on February 12, 2018

the room is essentially wrapped 100% with windows and is the only place for an office (my home). i tried rotating but then the screen was washed out almost completely.

Why not install vertical blinds? If it's your home, surely you have the latitude to do that (at first I assumed this was in an office setting where you couldn't make changes like that).
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:27 AM on February 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

I worked in an environment like this for a couple of years. Don't do it. Really. Do not do this to yourself. Don't know what you're dealing with but I was able to work out a setup with these: Ikea wire curtain hanger things. That enabled me to have a 50% shade and a near blackout shade as I wanted.

You want a very muted light environment if you are a screen user.
posted by n9 at 9:39 AM on February 12, 2018

Consider Rainbow Optx - maybe the aqua or the rose? The lenses drastically alter the color of the light (obviously) with full UV400 protection but I find most of the colors wearable indoors and on cloudy days.

Note: you should NOT wear these glasses as a driver or pedestrian, since they can alter the color of traffic signals.
posted by juliplease at 10:11 AM on February 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: can it be assumed that the only workable solution is that i would like a pair of glasses that have good quality lenses for reading a screen. should they be polarized? low light transmission? (like 7%) or higher like 75%? bluelight isn't an issue (it's daylight i struggle with), curtains, blinds, room dividers all not possible. i can squint or use sunglasses. just looking for more information about using a screen while wearing them, and suggestions of what types might work.
posted by chasles at 10:28 AM on February 12, 2018

The reason you probably don't like wearing your regular sunglasses indoors is the polarization. It can really throw things off.

I think you should go see your eye doc about this. You don't want to mess around with your vision.
posted by radioamy at 1:23 PM on February 12, 2018

Polarized lenses generally don't work very well with LCD monitors, since those monitors rely on polarized light in their functioning. So let me un-recommend that.
posted by Aleyn at 11:02 PM on February 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Eye shields for photosensitivity, and when you google those you'll also find the advice to see your eye doctor, which, do. I feel your pain!
posted by lokta at 3:45 AM on February 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Have you tried wearing a sunhat? I know it sounds odd but it totally works to blot out extraneous light.
posted by ebear at 10:29 AM on February 15, 2018