It started with a twitch in my eyelid.  Then, both eyelids.  And before long, the annoying spasms that once began at 3:00PM, started after lunch and didn’t end.

The culprit: Eye strain.  The cause: Too much screen time.

Years ago, my optometrist (Dr. Rezvani, at iDoc in Penn Quarter) asked me how many hours per day I looked at a computer.  9-hours at my job, give or take meetings.  4-hours of blogging, plus whatever Netflix show I was binging, put me firmly at 12-14 hours a day of steady screen time.  She repeatedly asked if I was kidding.

Fast forward eight years, and my steady diet of screen time continues.  But my youth does not.

Working the legislative session, workdays often started before 7:00AM and ended after I’d finished a post or two, usually around 10:30PM.  A few weeks of that, and the eyelid spasms (medically known as Blepharospasm) that once happened occasionally in the afternoons now filled my days.  So I ordered another pair of the blue-light glasses that Facebook convinced me to buy a few months before (I’d packed the first pair up when we moved, never to be seen again.).

There are so many brands of the on-trend blue-light glasses.  Some cost less than $10.  Some cost over $100.  Others have slightly condescending names like “lady boss” or “girl power lenses.”  I just needed a pair that worked.

Thee two brands that rose to the top of my research are the two I’m going to promote in this post.  Neither of them are likely to pop up on social media.  Because most of the socially promoted companies have either bad customer reviews or glasses that I considered poor quality.

The first brand is called The Book Club.  They make several pair of modern, minimalist glasses in the $30-$50 price range.  The glasses are well made, and flattering on most face shapes.

The pair in the photo are called 12 Hungry Bens (available here, and here).  I love the cellophane frames for a minimal look.  I also like their black Grime in Banishment pair.  I just bought a friend the Art of Snore glasses in a slight beige color for her birthday.

Also, if you’re looking for an inexpensive graduation gift or a gift for an intern, these would be a good option.  They’re practical, useful and stylish.

The second brand comes from Amazon and is called Prive Riveaux.  I bought the tortoise version of their Alchemist glasses for my first pair, and while I love them, they’re a little big for my face.   But if you have strong features or you just love the oversized glasses look, these are for you.  They run $30.

Other pairs I liked include the Aristotle, a simple tortoise frame that looks good on almost everyone, and these Maimonides glasses, a cellophane frame similar to the Bens pair above.

The Aristotle pair as well as some of the other Prive Riveaux frames feel a little flimsy when you first handle them.  But I’ve sat on a pair and they didn’t break or bend.  Over time, I grew to like the lightness of the frames (I sometimes get a headache from heavy glasses.), but if you want a more substantial pair try The Book Club first.

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Blue-light or screen glasses are kind of a trendy thing right now.  But I found them to be extraordinarily helpful for cutting down on eye strain.  Because as my 85-year-old Nana is so fond of telling us, “Squinters get wrinkles.”

{photo is from Camille Styles’ blog (she’s awesome); and this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author}