SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Sleep Disorders
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Advance on Sleep Disorder: Mechanisms and InterventionsView all 17 articles
Efficacy of blue-light blocking glasses on actigraphic sleep outcomes: A review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled crossover trials
Provisionally accepted
Francisco A. Luna-Rangel*
Brenda González-BedollaMiranda J. Salazar-OrtegaXimena Torres-MancillaSalim Martínez-Cadena- Tecnologico de Monterrey Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Monterrey, Mexico
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Background: Evening exposure to blue light suppresses melatonin, delays circadian phase, and prolongs sleep onset latency, impairing sleep quality. Blue-light blocking glasses (BBGs) are proposed as a non-pharmacological strategy to mitigate these effects, but trial evidence remains inconsistent due to small samples and heterogeneous protocols. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of BBGs in improving objective sleep outcomes sleep onset latency (SOL), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) compared to clear lenses or no intervention in adults. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from 2010 to 2024. Eligible studies enrolled adults using BBGs before bedtime and reported actigraphy-derived outcomes. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed using the generic inverse variance method. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251034611). Results: Three double-blind crossover RCTs (n = 49) were included. BBGs showed a non-significant reduction in SOL (MD = −4.86 min; 95% CI: −20.23 to 10.52; p = 0.54) and a non-significant increase in TST (MD = 8.75 min; 95% CI: −35.31 to 52.82; p = 0.70). No significant effects were found for SE (MD = −0.61; 95% CI: −7.58 to 6.35; p = 0.86) or WASO (MD = −1.47; 95% CI: −14.94 to 11.99; p = 0.83). Heterogeneity was low (I² = 0%). Conclusion: BBGs may provide small improvements in sleep, but current evidence from RCTs does not support significant effects. Larger, well-powered trials with standardized protocols are needed.
Keywords: Blue light exposure, Sleep, Actigraphy, Circadian Rhythm, Crossover studies
Received: 04 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Luna-Rangel, González-Bedolla, Salazar-Ortega, Torres-Mancilla and Martínez-Cadena. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Francisco A. Luna-Rangel, franciscol.md16@gmail.com
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