Facts about Sunglasses
Sunglasses are made of two pieces of dyed glass or plastic in a plastic or metal frame. Can anything get more uncomplicated than that? It is not so obvious, but the two pieces of glass have a variety of uses, each one impacting you differently. It should be apparent to you now that there is definitely a difference in the quality of the wide range of sunglasses available.
These are the four things you should look for when purchasing a high quality pair of sunglasses.
Your sunglasses should have protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Corneas and retinas can be damaged from Ultraviolet (UV) light. When you wear good sunglasses, it is possible to filter UV rays out completely.
Sunglasses protect your eyes from strong light. The eyes respond to strong light by closing the iris. After the iris has closed as much as possible, then the squinting begins. But if there is still an overabundance of light, as when sunlight is reflecting off of snow for example, damage could be done to the retina. Sunglasses are considered to be “good” if they block out at least 97% of the damaging rays that are constantly streaming towards your eyes.
Sunglasses eliminate glare. Surfaces such as water typically reflect a great deal of light, producing bright spots which can not only be troubling, but might in fact be hiding unseen objects. Good glasses which are polarized can completely get rid of this type of glare.
Sunglasses will block certain light frequencies. While contrast might be improved by some frequencies of light, certain others can blur vision. Finding the right color sunglasses has its benefits in certain situations.
Buying inexpensive sunglasses typically means that you lose all these benefits and possibly make the situation worse. For example, your exposure to UV rays increases if your sunglasses do not provide UV protection. Cheap sunglasses will stop some light and this will cause the iris to open even more and will let in more light. This will let in more UV light also and cause more retina damage.
Buying the appropriate kind of sunglasses you need for the situation gives you the most protection and performance out of a pair of sunglasses.
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