Why You Need Sunglasses During The Winter
You may think that the sun in Scranton is mild during winter and that sunglasses are not necessary in this period. Contrary to this belief, though, you could be facing a greater exposure during this season.
The reason for this is that the sun is closer to the earth and at different angles during winter. This leads to your eyes and body being more exposed to the UV rays of the sun in the winter.
How Can Sunglasses Help?
Sunglasses can protect your eyes from the winter sun in the following ways:
- They protect your eyes from UV rays
Prolonged exposure to UV rays can cause damage to the cornea, causing cataracts and other diseases like macular degeneration. It can also lead to formation of wrinkles around the eyes due to premature ageing.
A good pair of sunglasses protect the eyes from UVA, UVB, and UVC rays and protect the delicate skin around the eyes. Watch a video about UV rays, here.
- Sunglasses reduce glare from wintry surfaces
Water and snow reflect sunlight due to precipitation in the winter. According to studies, snow can reflect 85 percent of the sun’s UV rays. Glare due to this reflection is harmful to the eyes. Thus, in the winter, the eyes are exposed to the sun’s rays directly and again to the reflection of the sun’s rays from snowy and icy surfaces.
It is important to protect your eyes by using sunglasses, more so, if you are into snow sports and other activities like hiking.
- They keep elements like dust and wind away
To protect your eyes from wind, debris, dust particles, etc., and avoid the abrasions these may cause, go for a pair of sunglasses that fits well on you. A good pair also helps by keeping contact lenses from drying out.
Special hydrophobic coatings on lenses help further by repelling oils, water, dust, and fingerprints and thus, protect the eyes and provide a clear vision.
- They reduce eye strain and headaches
Sunglasses channel the amount of light entering the eyes reducing eye strain. Special polychromic lenses that darken in bright light are very useful for this.
- They help to maintain visual acuity
Sunglasses control the amount of light entering the eye and allow an optimal amount. This in turn, helps to maintain a good visual acuity. They also prevent retinal bleaching from reflective surfaces like snow and ice.
Tips for Purchasing Winter Sunglasses in Scranton
As you now know, it is important to invest in a good pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes from the harmful rays of the winter sun. Whether you are preparing to hike in the snow mountains or participate in other snow sports, you should consider the following features:
- Fit snugly
- Are big enough, so they can cover the skin around the eyes, and can block more wind
- Have the ability to block 100 percent UV (UVA and UVB) rays
- Are polarized
- Have dark lenses
- Come with anti-reflective coatings
The color of the glasses serves a specific purpose as mentioned below.
- Grey lenses keep the contrast and colors unchanged; they just reduce the intensity of light that enters the eyes.
- Brown lenses enhance the contrast - consider them for snow sports
- Amber or yellow lenses enhance the contrast much more than brown ones - great for snow sports, driving, etc.
Take the above points into consideration and invest in a pair that not only addresses your requirements but also look and feel great. Stop by Boyle Eye Specialists to see our range of sunglasses.