Staring into blue filter glasses has become so routine that it’s easy to forget the impact on our eyes. The blue light emitted by digital screens has been linked to eye strain, insomnia and disrupted sleep cycles. But there are ways to help.

One popular option is to which prevent the light from reaching your eyes. These lenses typically have orange coatings, but newer versions are clear and look more like regular reading glasses (and can be fitted with your prescription). These glasses are best worn in the daytime, as blue light keeps us awake; they’re not recommended for nighttime use, as they may actually exacerbate sleep disturbances.

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These glasses work by filtering high-energy visible (HEV) light, which consists of the short wavelength and higher frequency (or energy) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that our screens emit. Most electronic devices emit HEV, including computers, tablets and phones, televisions, office lighting and even sunlight. Blue light is the highest-energy part of the spectrum, which means that it has a greater potential to damage our eyeballs over time than other colors, such as red and green, which have longer wavelengths and lower frequencies.

Unfortunately, it seems that those who have been hoping that blue filter glasses would solve their eye strain problems will be disappointed: A new study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that the glasses don’t reduce eyestrain. The research also showed that they didn’t improve sleep quality or prevent retinal damage, as some previous studies had suggested. This may be because the Cochrane review mixed together studies that used orange glasses, which don’t block blue light well, with those that used clear glasses and did a better job of blocking the light.