Melatonin dietary supplements have new competition: eyeglasses designed to promote the body’s natural production of melatonin.
Melatonin dietary supplements have new competition: eyeglasses designed to promote the body’s natural production of melatonin.
Developed by two eye doctors, Ocusleep glasses should be worn two hours before bedtime. They are said to block blue and green wavelengths of light stemming from digital screens (phones, TVs, iPads) and room lights. These light sources disrupt the body’s ability to release melatonin and hence the ability to fall asleep. By stopping this disruption, the glasses support the body’s natural release of melatonin, the key controller of the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin then starts signaling the brain to start the process of inducing sleep. Ocusleep glasses are available in prescription and non-prescription forms.
“As a doctor, and as a parent, I felt we had to do something to provide a safe way to help our remote-learning children fall asleep,” said Ocusleep CEO Dr. Marc Weinstein, in a press release. “Ocusleep glasses help people of all ages suppress the effects of screen time and even household lights and increase our ability to fall asleep naturally and safely.”