0035 Improving Sleep with a Blue-Light Blocking Amber Lenses Intervention for College Students with Poor Sleep Quality

Abstract Introduction Evening blue light exposure from electronics can interfere with our natural circadian rhythm and disrupt sleep. College students commonly use electronics before bed, a behavior associated with poor sleep quality. Blue light-blocking glasses with amber lenses offer a non-invasive option to filter this light from our eyes and reduce its impact. Actigraphy-based studies show improvements in sleep metrics (total sleep time [TST], sleep efficiency, etc.) when amber glasses are worn before bed. Improvements in these objective sleep markers suggest amber glasses as an effective intervention for sleep quality improvement. This study aims to understand the effect of amber glasses on objective sleep metrics in college students with poor sleep quality. Methods Participants included 6 (male=3) full-time undergraduate students (mean age=19.83, SD=1.47 years) who reported poor sleep quality (global screening scores ≥5 and/or sleep efficiency scores ≤82% on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index). They completed one week of typical sleep (baseline), followed by two weeks wearing amber glasses two hours prior to bedtime. During the 3-week study, participants wore a wrist actigraph (Philips Respironics) to assess Time in Bed (TIB), TST, Sleep Onset Latency (SOL), sleep efficiency, Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO), and number of awakenings. Results Preliminary paired-samples t-tests were conducted. Both TIB (Baseline=484.3 min, Intervention=537.0 min, t(5)=-4.871, p=.005) and TST (Baseline=398.5 min, Intervention=447.5 min, t(5)=-5.527, p=.003) increased after the intervention. Although not statistically significant (p=.312), a moderate effect size (d=0.458) was observed for improved SOL (Baseline=24.6 min; Intervention=19.7 min). Differences were not statistically significant for sleep efficiency, WASO, or number of awakenings. Conclusion These pilot findings suggest that wearing amber-tinted glasses before bedtime may lead to increased time spent in bed and longer sleep duration. The moderate effect sizes for reduced SOL after intervention suggest that participants may fall asleep more easily with reduced blue light exposure. A potential mechanism may include improved melatonin timing to facilitate easier sleep onset. As reducing electronic use in college students is challenging due to academic, social, and personal factors, amber glasses may present a more feasible way to reduce blue light exposure before bedtime and enhance sleep health. Support (if any)