Summer is a few months away, which means that it’s time to go out and have fun. If you love the sun as much as everyone else, then you know how painful it is to experience the glare on your eyes.
They’re not good; in fact, for some people, it hurts their eyes so much that they feel momentarily blinded. This is why you need to get polarised sunglasses with readers.
What are Polarized Sunglasses with Readers?
In a nutshell, polarized sunglasses with readers are just reading glasses with polarized lenses. Polarized lenses are lenses that help block the glare so that your eyes are more comfortable whenever you step out into the sun. The polarized lenses deflect the light that would go to your eyes whenever they bounce off a flat surface.
How Do Polarized Lenses Work?
You know that light bounces off surfaces. When a certain ray of light bounces off a flat surface, the beam bounces horizontally. This horizontal bouncing of the light creates the glare that you know. Sounds too geeky for you? Just remember this - when light touches a surface, it bounces. That, my friend, is the glare.
So how do polarized lenses help in this situation? Polarized lenses have a unique film that is placed in the lenses themselves. It’s like another layer of protection that blocks the glare that would go to your eyes. You can say that it doesn’t receive the horizontal light. But you still see something despite not receiving any horizontal rays of light. This is because the polarized lenses only allow vertical light to go through them.
Are Polarized Sunglasses Really Helpful?
It all comes down to one question - are polarized sunglasses beneficial? Do they give that big a difference than when you just wear regular sunglasses? Here’s a rundown of their advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
Clearer Vision
As mentioned so many times in this post, polarised sunglasses help make you see a lot better during the day. This means that you have a clearer vision and you can see more even when it’s so bright. Polarized sunglasses reduce the sunlight that reflects on surfaces, so you can expect to be able to get on with your day as if nothing is shining too bright around you.
For most people, this is very important because seeing clearly during the day helps make them do their activities better. If you’re a mechanic, a waiter, or a food truck chef, then you need to have a clear vision as to not mess things up.
Reduced Glare
Another thing that makes polarised lenses very important is reduced glare. Sure, you can survive the glare that hits your eyes, but do you really want to endure this? Glare can be very uncomfortable for most people, and it’s also one of the reasons why people wear sunglasses. However, not all sunglasses have polarized lenses. So if you’re going to buy sunglasses, make sure to ask the seller if the lenses that go with it are polarized.
Prevents Eyestrain
Lastly, polarized lenses reduce eyestrain. Even without the glare, people have a hard time stepping outdoors because of all the light and the reflection. If you’re one of these people, then having polarized sunglasses is a must.
Some people have it worse when they get exposed to glare. Aside from the usual blinding feeling, they tend to get headaches or migraines right after. For some, it lasts a day, while others need to drink medicine just to survive the headache. Using these lenses will help reduce your overall discomfort and can help headaches that come after getting glare.
Disadvantages
Reduced Visibility
Ironically, polarised sunglasses can also cause reduced visibility. Because it only receives vertical rays of light, you won’t be able to see shiny spots on the surface. You can experience having trouble looking at LCD screens and looking outside during the dark. Obviously, you won’t be wearing sunglasses, but if you do have polarized glasses, then it’s best to have a different set of lenses for when you are driving out at night.
To add to that, some polarized sunglasses can react to the tint on the windshields, which makes it even harder to drive at night. In general, everything that has tint on it has a high chance to react badly with polarized lenses.
Not Advisable for Sports
For people who play sports, seeing shiny spots on the surface is very important. One of the main reasons why wearing polarized sunglasses is not recommended when skiing is that it alters the colours or how you see the world in general. This is most true for white. So if you’re skiing in the snow, it’s going to be harder to see the actual colour of the ground.
For example, those who ski need to see those shiny spots, so they know what to avoid and what to ski through. It’s also going to be hard to see the few bumps in the snow, which is very dangerous. If you’re going skiing, or any similar sport, it’s best to just wear regular sunglasses instead of polarized ones.
When Should You Wear Polarized Sunglasses?
Given the advantages and the disadvantages, it’s obvious that polarized sunglasses are useful in some situations while it isn’t in some.
Polarized sunglasses are beneficial when you’re driving in the day or when you’re simply walking under the sun. Since you can encounter a lot of reflecting surfaces, a pair of polarized sunglasses can help save you from headaches and the glare that hits your eyes.
Moreover, polarized sunglasses almost always have built-in UV protection. UV rays are always a bad thing, and they can harm your eyes as well and not just your skin. Wearing polarized sunglasses can help reduce the chances of developing cataracts over time. The more UV protection you get, the less harm the sun does to your eyes, making your overall eye health a lot better. So, yes, overall, polarized sunglasses with readers are helpful whenever you wear them at the right time.