Back in the day it was easy to know if you needed glasses or not.
“Can you see this?”
”No”
”You need glasses”
The world we live in today is a bit more complex. Gone are the days that glasses are only for people that can’t see. Glasses today are designed with our lifestyle in mind. Even people with 20/20 vision may be prescribed glasses to help optimize their vision during certain daily tasks or lifestyle activities.
Even with good vision it may be tough to know if you need glasses or not. Below are a few common signs that glasses may help improve your day to day lifestyle.
The most common reason glasses are prescribed for people with good vision is due to the stress and strain of digital device use throughout the day. When we stare at our computer or phone we are causing the muscles in our eyes to constrict to keep clear focus. This causes a stress on the system that may or may not lead to eyestrain. Even if you don’t experience eyestrain or tired eyes, glasses specifically designed for this use will help reduce the stress of focusing for long hours of the day.
When you see halos, glare or starbursts around objects, you are seeing signs of the imperfections in your vision. Typically we see these kinds of aberrations at night or under low-light conditions when our pupils are a little more dilated. If you have an uncorrected prescription, even a very mild one, it will cause light to scatter and become out-of-focus. This results in halos, glare or starbursts around these objects. People that experience these aberrations will wear specifically designed glasses to improve their vision and overall comfort. Especially while driving at night.
Chronic dry or watery eyes may be a sign that you need glasses. When we focus on a screen or dive into a project our blink rate significantly goes down. This is common for everyone. When you combine this with an uncorrected prescription it reduces your blink rate even more. Our eyes rely on a consistent blink rate to keep the tears in our eyes stable and our eyes healthy. A reduced blink rate may result in dry eyes or even watery eyes as the eyes try to over-compensate for the dryness.
For those of us over 40 we just have to admit that our focusing system isn’t the same as it once was. As we age our eyes ability to compensate for small imperfections isn’t as great. Even if we don’t notice these changes, they are there. Simply put, if you are over 40, you need glasses.
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