Blue Light Blocking Glasses From Pill Bottles

So recently I read an article about how wearing orange glasses at night can help you sleep better at night. I wanted to test this for myself, and being the cheap person that I am, I made my own and it took me about an hour and a half. So yeah, that's what this instructable is.

Step 1: What It's Used For/How It Works

The basis of the science is that when you're exposed to sky blue light, it prevents the production of melatonin, which then interrupts your body's sleep cycle. Constant exposure to sky blue light at night-time, most commonly the LED backlight on screens and monitors, tells your body that it is still daytime. One way to reduce blue light at night is to wear orange glasses at night (hmmm I wonder how I would be able to make a pair).

Step 2: Tools and Materials

For this project, you will need:

• Pair of Sunglasses (or regular glasses)
• Orange Pill Bottles
• Big Book
• Gloves
• Heat Gun
• Scissors
• Parchment Paper
• Sharpie
• Tape
• Regular Paper
• X-Acto Knife (optional)
• Hand Saw (optional)

Step 3: What Color of Pill Bottles to Use (Optional)

If you happen to have pill bottles in more than 1 shade of orange, there is a way to test which will work best (if you only have access to 1 color, then move on to the next step).

If you have normal vision and your monitor can display RGB, then the 2 spectra above will have a noticeable difference. The upper one has a normal color range, but the lower one has the color cyan removed. To test which color of pill bottle will work best, look through each pill bottle (so that your vision appears orange) at the 2 spectra. Choose the color of pill bottle where the spectra look the most alike (when looking through said pill bottle).

Step 4: Pop Lenses Out

For this first step, hold the frame in place and push the lens forward, gradually increasing pressure along and around the frame until it comes out. Do this for both of the lenses.

Step 5: Cut Open the Pill Bottles

Use your handsaw to remove the bottom of the bottle by sawing it off. Then, cut through the middle "hot dog" style to cut it in half vertically (only on one side). You can use scissors instead of the hand saw, you just have to cut it open vertically first, and then cut off the bottom.

Step 6: Flatten the Plastic

Flattening the plastic is much easier with two people, one to hold the plastic and one to operate the heat gun.

Before you turn on the heat gun, fold a piece of parchment paper in half and place it anywhere in the book. Line up the crease of the parchment paper with the crease of the book, and leave the book open.

Turn on the heat gun on low, and get someone else to hold the plastic (or the other way around). Make sure to wear gloves. The person holding the heat gun must slowly move it in a circular motion so the heat is distributed throughout the plastic. The person holding the plastic must slowly bend open the plastic as it gets warmer, and once you get it flat enough, place it in the book. How flat you want it depends on how curved the original lenses were. Once it is laying flat inside the book, close the book and stand on it (optional). After a minute or two, you can open the book and take the plastic out.

Step 7: Cut the Plastic Lenses Out

After you've flattened the plastic, trace the original lens on a piece of paper and cut it out. Make sure you press the paper against the lens to include the lens' curve in the tracing. Then, cut out the shape from the flattened plastic using the paper as a template. Remember, it is better to start out cutting it bigger than you need it to be, and the carefully trimming it down to size. As you trim it down to size, compare it to the original lens and check to see if it fits in the glasses frame yet.

Step 8: Pop New Plastic Lenses In

Once it is the correct size, push it in the same way you took it out in the beginning.

Step 9: Enjoy!

Now all you have to do is put these on at night and enjoy sleeping peacefully. If you liked this then vote for it in the contests!

Research and stuff:

Fix Your Sleep With Low Blue Light! by Multifarious

https://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-Your-Sleep-wi...

Blue Light Blocking Test Picture

https://blueblockglasses.com/blogs/news/36521601-h...

Regular Old Info Article

https://wellnessmama.com/15730/blue-light-blocking...

Article With That Nice Picture

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-smartphone-ligh...

Comments

[JoniR6]

Would making one rectangular piece of plastic pill bottle the size of your phone screen be a lot easier than trying to get it to fit glass rims?

[expertmagician]

Your final product with the orange lenses has no real distortion...so, I find it hard to believe that the lenses in the photos were actually made from straitening a pill bottle.

[nearboston]

Did you read the instructable? It's pretty clear how the plastic was flattened.

[expertmagician]

The issue is not "how" to flatten the plastic and get the correct curve, the problem is making a distortion free lens is VERY VERY difficult.

If you succeeded....you have my congrats :-)

[the6thstar]

I understand what you're saying, and there are spots on my glasses that are difficult to see through (double vision, slight blurriness, etc.). These spots make the glasses imperfect, but the majority of the plastic is clear and easy to see through. They would only really be "distorted" if you heated the plastic all the way to its melting point.

[JohnC430]

i agree with you. in this case you're only trying to very slightly soften it

[JohnC430]

Flattening the plastic is much easier with two people, one to hold the plastic and one to operate the heat gun......

ok you hold the little plastic bottle with both hands and spread the edges wide and I will spray it with the heat gun.

[RaúlT5]

Thankyou I'm trying with agreen bottle. Following you

[the6thstar]

Thanks. I appreciate it

[thundrepance]

i'm going to try it with my walgreen's bottles. they're TRIANGULARorange [much nicer than those traditional brownish cylinders]. i believe that they won't need much or any flattening, as the 3 sides are almost flat already.:^D

[mdeloor]

This is a great instructable! I am definitely going to give this a try, just for the fun of it. I actually have a pair of the "Yellow Driving Glasses" that help with road glare at night. I absolutely love them, but not their price tag (they were about $30 Canadian + 12% tax). But I find they absolutely do work for the night vision/road glare problem.

I have always had huge insomnia issues my whole life, so I wonder if these might help me in the evenings pre-bedtime? I usually shut down any devices at least an hour prior to lights out, and just read a book. Sometimes that works, but many times it doesn't, so here's hoping!

May take me a while, but I'll be sure to let you know how they turn out! And if they work!!

Thanks again!

[the6thstar]

I'm glad you enjoyed this and I hope it works for you!

[Hyshinara]

See, physical dictionaries are still useful!

[rogermari]

For many years I learn bike drivers uses Yellow lenses to
drive at night, not only help with the windshield factor but also help to see
better at night, is interesting to learn it help with the blue light too.

[billbillt]

great

[Slim49]

Thats s grest idea!

[jimwi]

Nice job. Inventive and creative solution.

But you missed a step the conclusion.

What was the out come?

Have you used the glasses?

How long do you wear the glasses for at night?

Did they work for you?

Do you sleep better? If so,

How long did it take to work a day, a week, a month?

How do they make you feel ? Rested, refreshed, more alert or what?

I would love to hear you insites please.

[the6thstar]

Oh, I didn't include a solution because when I was making the instructable, I hadn't had enough time to actually test them. I've had some time to test them, so I'll share. I usually put on the glasses around 9 pm until I go to sleep (around 10:30). I fall asleep much quicker since I started wearing these. I don't think it takes days or weeks to start working, just when you start wearing them (I might be wrong about that part). I would recommend trying them.

[Matlek]

Cool trick, and nice instructable!

Do you sleep better now thanks to these glasses?

[the6thstar]

Thanks!

I find that I do sleep a little better since I started wearing these glasses.