Enhancing Your Lenses

Need New Glasses? Don't Overlook These Ways to Upgrade Your Lenses

When it comes to buying new eyeglasses, many people focus on frames, spending hours trying on multiple shapes and colors. With so many styles to choose from, it’s easy to forget that glasses are used for a medical purpose and they need to do more than just look good -- they need to work.

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Remember, there are many lenses and enhancements that can be customized to fit your lifestyle and everyday needs. Here are some lens enhancements you’ll want to consider “must-haves” for your next pair of glasses.

• Anti-reflective (AR) coating: A good AR or anti-reflective coating can enhance your vision and make your glasses look better by minimizing those annoying reflections. The coatings can be applied to the front and back of your lenses to help protect them from scratches and smudges, and repel dust and water. Additionally, AR coatings can reduce eyestrain caused by glare and reflections, and prevent the “halos” you might see from oncoming cars at night. The coating also reduces the reflection of light, allowing others to better see your eyes through the lenses.

• Light-reactive lenses: Also known as photochromic lenses, these lenses quickly darken in sunlight and return to clear indoors, combining the benefits of regular prescription glasses and sunglasses in one convenient package. Light-reactive lenses also reduce light sensitivity, protect against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and many even reduce exposure to blue light from sunlight and devices.

• Blue light reduction: Blue light is a high-energy light emitted by digital devices, LED lights, and the sun. Blue light exposure has been linked to digital eye strain. And with screen time continuing to soar, it’s not surprising that digital eye strain has surpassed carpal tunnel syndrome as the leading computer-related workplace complaint in America, according to the Vision Council’s digital ye strain report. Adding a blue light coating to your lenses can reduce your exposure and offer relief from sore, irritated, tired eyes while working, cramming, e-reading, or binge-watching.

• Progressive lenses: Lens enhancements aren’t the only way to upgrade your vision experience. For those who have graduated to the sometimes-dreaded presbyopia club, the age-related loss of the eye’s ability to focus on nearby objects, there is new technology that makes adapting to progressive lenses much easier. Additionally, gone are the days of the bifocal, so you won’t have to endure the line in the middle of the lens. Instead, you can enjoy a cosmetically- pleasing lens that allows you to see near, far, and in between effortlessly.

To learn more about finding the right lens enhancements, visit vsp.com/eyeglasses-lenses.html.

For better vision and protection against eye strain and damage, don’t overlook your lens options.

When it’s time to get your next pair of glasses, think beyond fashion and take some time to think through your lenses, considering options that can offer you better vision as well as protection against eye strain and damage.