Every day I get a headache. And so every evening I have to talk myself off the computer, a regular ritual to turn away from the proverbial cliff of migraines and misery. My iPhone is more onerous still, with never-ending Instagram scrolls and backgammon matches dancing dangerously close to my eyes. Admittedly I’m of the generation that spends more than nine hours a day looking at gadget screens, contributing to the reported 70 percent of American adults suffering from screen-related eye strain, according to the Vision Council survey.

“Just get those yellow-tinted glasses,” a colleague suggested to me years ago. “I have them,” he vouched, sending me a link to the retailer’s website. A simple solution that should remove me from the Vision Council’s statistic of 27 percent of Americans that don’t know eyewear can reduce eye strain. (I wonder how many of those in the know merely don’t act upon such wisdom?) Yet with just two style options for the sunny-colored glasses and a hefty price tag, I bookmarked the website for later in life. One of those purchases I’d eventually make, you know, when I’m an adult. 

But after a January piece on a new, eye-saving iPhone feature called Night Shift mode, fate stepped in. A company called Jins (JINS Eyewear US Inc.) contacted me about their line of affordable glasses designed to block a portion of the blue light emitted by smartphones, laptops and other screened gadgets — without the yellow tint. Hailing from Tokyo, Jins has an extensive lineup of eye strain-reducing spectacles to fit any face and personality, with prescription and nonprescription lenses that look perfectly normal.

They offered to send me a test pair. I squealed with delight, perusing Jins’ store for the right mix of price, style and function. While there’s a seemingly endless array of frames from which to select, it’s helpful to already know what shape works best with your face. The last pair of prescription glasses I bought for myself was the result of months of research, visiting boutique and chain retailers and reflecting (literally) on the overall look. Unlike Warby Parker, Jins doesn’t send you a box of five frames to try on in the comfort of your own home. And the Jins website has no software application for uploading an image of yourself to virtually try on glasses.

If you prefer trying glasses on in person, Jins does have several retail locations around the world, its newest expected to open in Los Angeles, CA this fall.

With my own four eyes

Arriving three days later, the Jins glasses came in a bold red case equipped with a microfiber square for cleaning. As I’d ordered a pair with nonprescription lenses, I did need my contacts to test the glasses. I can honestly say my experience was positive – my headaches were less intense by the end of the work day. But the biggest surprise came from my mother-in-law.

Visiting the same week my Jins glasses came in the mail, I offered the red spectacles to my husband’s mother as we sat down to watch TV one evening. She’d complained of a lingering headache, and I thought at the very least she could help me test the glasses. 

Every day thereafter, my affinal mother requested the glasses, wearing them for longer periods with each trial. In fact, she’d even been able to forego her daily dose of aspirin altogether, thanks to Jins. And after returning home, she called to ask for the Jins website. By the following weekend, an impromptu FaceTime call with mother-in-law revealed her new red pair of Jins Screen glasses very similar to the pair tested at my house just a week prior.

So now two adults have made the mature decision to protect their eyes from blue light harassment, my mother-in-law either falling prey to my power of suggestion, or obliterating any possibility of my own experience being just a placebo effect. For these two women of the worldwide web, Jins Screen lenses keep the headaches at bay.

The question for Jins will be how to thrive in a digital world where manufacturers like Apple begin incorporating eye strain-reducing features directly into gadgets. For more information on Night Shift mode for the new iPhone SE and additional tips and apps for reducing eye strain from gadgets, see our previous coverage here.

Feature image via Jins