Gunnar Optiks Halogen glasses

Spending too long staring at a computer screen can lead to eye strain, dry eyes, headaches and more. Opticians refer to this broad range of symptoms as computer vision syndrome (CVS).

These Gunnar Optiks Halogen glasses are designed to alleviate CVS symptoms – Gunnar is an American maker of specialist spectacles.

It's possible to buy computer glasses to suit your prescription if you have one, but this pair is for users who don't already wear any. The idea is that the light yellow tint, anti-reflective coating and shape of the lenses combine to reduce glare, improve clarity and alleviate eye strain long-term.

Gunnar makes computer glasses to suit lower budgets but the Halogen pair is one of the more expensive models at around £150 a pair (depending on the dollar exchange rate). Considering the expense, we were keen to see just what difference, if any, they made. For comparison, we picked up a pair of basic light-enhancing safety glasses on eBay for less than £10.

When we used the Halogens in the office or at home, the amber tinted anti-reflective coating was immediately apparent, which made everything seem a little warmer.

Despite the tint, clarity was excellent and we soon forgot about the slight shift in colour. They presented no problems when worn all day long, unlike the standard safety glasses, which turned everything yellow, making them impractical for everyday use. However, even after wearing the Gunnar glasses for a week our eyes didn't feel much different compared with wearing no glasses.

For us, the most noticeable difference was when playing games. We asked three people to try the glasses for a three-hour gaming session. All three felt the visuals were a little better with the glasses, but none of them felt the improvement was big enough to justify the cost.

If you already wear prescription glasses you will need to ask your optician to contact Gunnar Optiks to manufacture a custom pair, though it may be hard to find a British optician who will do this. Computer users experiencing severe CVS symptoms may find that any gain is worth the cost, but for others the cost is hard to justify.