About NOCTRA
Our days run on screens and our nights stay lit. NOCTRA makes eyewear to help you protect, perform and recover, by choosing the light your brain receives.
Our frames are named for southern constellations charted from Cape Town in the 1750s: Octans, Carina, Pyxis, Caelum and Fornax.
Our story
Why I created Noctra
For years my days ran on white light. Office ceilings, bright screens, then US hours from Cape Town that kept me online long after dark. In between, I was building other businesses during the day.
And the light didn’t stop when work did. At home it was a big TV and a phone that never went quiet, with emails and notifications I was always checking. In the car it was bright digital dashboards. On the padel court it was harsh white LEDs. Almost every waking hour, my eyes were taking in bright, cold light.
My body felt it. I’d get into bed wired, struggle to switch off, and never feel the room was dark enough. I woke up exhausted, with strained eyes and dark bags. I train and live an active life, but my mornings felt flat. Even with supplements, I never felt recovered, and my gym sessions suffered.
So I started looking at the one thing I was getting too much of at the wrong times: light. Noctra is what came out of that. It’s a set of lenses built around the day. Lumen keeps me sharp and switched on at work and in training. Circadia goes on after work, ideally before sunset, to start winding down. Solace is for the last hour before sleep.
I built Noctra for people living like I was: long hours, bright screens, big ambitions, and not enough real rest.
— Founder, Cape Town
What we believe
Protect all day.
Screens and LED lighting are part of every day. Every NOCTRA lens filters part of that harsh blue and white light, and every lens is UV400.
Perform by day.
The right light keeps you sharp. Our day lenses are built for focus without dulling colour.
Recover by night.
Evenings deserve warmer light. Our night lenses help you wind down while the world stays switched on.
Honest about light.
We publish what our lenses filter, say where the numbers come from, and don’t make medical claims.