Answer: They Relieve Eye Fatigue

Just like constant repetitive motions are fatiguing to our muscles, constant exposure to the same section of the color spectrum is fatiguing to the eyes. In that way, regardless of our race, ethnicity, gender, or creed, when we end up on the surgical table we’re all red on the inside and surgeons staring into our bodies actually experience a type of eye fatigue as a result.

This fatigue can take the form of visual artifacts and a sort of lingering flash-bulb effect and, as you can imagine, impair the surgeon’s ability to perform precise work within the body. The solution for this color-induced eye fatigue is exposure to colors on the opposite end of the color spectrum. As a result, surgeons and their assistants the world over wear blue-green spectrum colored scrubs to offset the eye-fatiguing effects of extended exposure to the pink-red insides.