What are reading sunglasses and when should you wear them?
Reading sunglasses may provide a solution if you spend time reading or doing close-up work outdoors and have trouble focusing your eyes. Also known as “sun readers,” these include both a reading prescription and a tinted lens with ultraviolet (UV) protection.
UV protection is often vital to prevent sun damage to the eyes, which may have a permanent effect on eyesight.
Many people rely on reading sunglasses for outside tasks that involve focusing up close — such as reading and gardening — as well as outdoor recreation where objects can suddenly come into close view, such as cycling and tennis.
Sun readers should have the same magnification as someone’s regular reading glasses.
Who needs reading sunglasses?
Even if you haven’t worn glasses in your youth, you might find as you grow older that you have difficulty reading small print and clearly seeing objects at arm’s length. Called presbyopia, this typically occurs with many people between 40 and 50 years old as a natural part of aging, which can be corrected with glasses. This is a common age-related eye issue.
Naturally, many who require prescription glasses to see throughout the day also enjoy sun readers to protect their eyes during outdoor activities.
Why wear reading sunglasses?
Reasons abound for wearing reader sunglasses. In many situations that you need shades to protect your eyes outdoors — whether you’re fixing the car, doing yard work, coasting on a bike or perusing a map — seeing clearly remains a high priority. Check out below just a few reasons why sun readers come in handy.
- No more back-and-forth: Many people experience a common story of carting around two pairs of glasses – their sunglasses and their readers. This entails a constant dance of swapping between the two during outside activities, which can interrupt a relaxing outing or become a hindrance for outdoor work. By combining your two essential pairs of eyewear, reader sunglasses may make outdoor life much simpler.
- Seeing with style: When your outdoor hobbies take you to a boat, a beach or the mountains, your traditional readers might not give the sporty or sleek appearance you’d prefer. There are a multitude of chic, quirky, bold and glamorous designs where you can easily find a pair of stylish reader sunglasses that will enhance your look, without giving away that they are also enhancing your eyesight.
- Staying safe: Many tasks that take you outside require your close attention to avoid accidents... And they require your vision, too. Perhaps you plan on using a hammer for a building project or monitoring the gauges on a speedboat or reading the safety labels on gardening chemicals. Regardless of where you find yourself, reader sunglasses may help you easily see items up close under the sun’s glare.
- Eye health: This might seem obvious, but reader sunglasses play an important role in the comfort and health of your eyes. If you wear just your readers outside and forgo sunglasses altogether, this comes at the expense of your vision.
Years of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun can damage the eye.
Things to consider when choosing reading sunglasses
Just like glasses for indoor use, you can take your pick from a variety of reader sunglasses. These include many options to suit personal style, specific activities and outdoor environments.
Vision needs
Keep in mind just a few of the options below as you explore which sun readers suit your lifestyle.
Bifocals: If you delight in speeding downhill on your bike, you will likely need to see the bottom of the hill far away, as well as a sudden pothole just a foot ahead. These same concerns apply to driving a car or motorcycle -- you want to check out your speedometer as well as keep an eye on the road stretched ahead. In these cases, bifocal reader sunglasses can help you assess both near and distant objects on a sunny day, with its two lenses connected together.
Full magnification: If you prefer lounging poolside with a summer read, full lens reader sunglasses offer the same magnification across the entire lens and may provide the close-up focus you need.
Polarized: Designed with a special chemical to help reduce light glare, this may improve your vision and your eye safety in the sun.
Inserts: Understandably, you might already have a pair of sunglasses you love, carefully picked for their look and comfort. You also might feel a bit reluctant to give up these tried-and-true shades for a new pair of sun readers. Not to worry – you can simply obtain reader inserts for sunglasses. These magnifying, stick-on lenses will instantly turn the sunglasses you already own into readers.
Style and frame shape
Picking a pair of sunglasses can be a fun journey as it encourages you to decide which look and design enhances your personal style and suits your face. After all, sunglasses remain a prized accessory in many closets.
When making a selection, you might want to consider the factors below.
The right frame. As with any apparel, you can find a pair of sunglasses that complement your natural look. In the case of sunglasses, certain frames seem to pair well with specific face shapes. These include:
- Heart-shaped face: Wide, rectangle frames may help balance out this face shape’s wide jaw line and sharp chin.
- Square face: Strange as it may sound, circles go well with squares. Round reader sunglasses may soften the features of this face’s broad forehead and jawline.
- Oval face: Lucky oval-faced folk can pull off almost any frame, including aviator, round and rectangular.
- Round face: Rectangular frames can add a more structured look to this face’s soft features.
Lens tints
You can find almost as many lens tints for reader sunglasses as shapes for frames. But the sunglass lens tint isn’t just about aesthetics, as tints filter light in different ways. Depending on what kind of outdoor excursions you prefer and where they take you, the tint can impact your visibility.
- Mirrored: If you intend to read on the beach or help your kids build snowmen, mirrored reader sunglasses help reflect the sun’s rays to reduce brightness in your eyes around sand and snow.
- Amber tint: This tint actually enhances brightness on overcast days. It also increases contrast against green and blue backgrounds, which could be useful for visiting the driving range or hooking bait on the water.
- Gradient tint: With the tint deepening from the top of the lens down, this guards your eyes from overhead light, with the bottom still letting in enough light to see clearly, which could work well for cycling or boating.
- Gray tint: Closely resembling true color vision, gray tints can be functional for outdoor leisure and athletic activities.
Where and how to buy reading sunglasses
You can simply purchase reading sunglasses from a doctor’s office, retail optical shop or vision center.
These options span a multitude of frames, tints, magnitudes and highly durable materials.
You have many options where to buy reader sunglasses. If you prefer one-on-one assistance with choosing the optimal pair for your vision and lifestyle, opticians and eye doctors can help guide you at a doctor’s office, retail optical shop or vision center.
And if you feel comfortable finding your ideal pair of sun readers on your own, online retailers offer a multitude of choices.
Talk to your eye doctor
Before you purchase a pair of readers or reading sunglasses, consider schedule a comprehensive eye exam with an eye doctor to get your eyes checked and eyeglass prescription updated.
