A pair of sunglasses, at first glance, may appear to be simple. It is merely two pieces of colored glass or plastic secured in some type of plastic or metal frame. That seems basic enough. As it turns out, there are a number of different things that you can do with these two pieces of glass or plastic that could result in a significant effect to you when you wear these lenses. Read on further to learn why there really is a difference in the sunglasses that you can get and why you need to be informed to make the right decisions about your eye and vision care.



When we simmer it down, there are four characteristics that a high quality pair of sunglasses should provide for you. First, sunglasses can offer a safeguard against ultraviolet rays of the sun. Ultraviolet (UV) light can damage the cornea as well as the retina. Good quality sunglasses can filter out the UV rays and provide valuable eye protection.

Next, sunglasses can offer a defense from intense, powerful sunlight. When the eye receives too much light it naturally reacts by closing the iris to limit the amount of light hitting the retina. Once the iris has been restricted it only leaves squinting as a means to further control the onslaught of strong sunlight. When there remains powerful ambient light as occurs on a clear, cloudless day, the result can be harm to the eye. A good quality pair of sunglasses can block the incoming light by as much as 97% thus protecting our vision.

Sunglasses offer protection from glare. Certain relatively flat surfaces, such as snow or standing water or even roadways, can be the cause of reflected light. The reflected glare can cause bright spots in your vision ranging from merely disturbing and annoying to outright dangerous by concealing objects in your field of view. Polarized sunglasses can virtually eliminate this type of glare.

And lastly, sunglasses are effective in removing particular frequencies of light from striking our eyes. In some circumstances, certain frequencies of the visible and invisible light spectrum could blur your vision or even affect contrast. Choosing the right color for your sunglass lenses can go a long way to counteract these negative aspects of sunlight.

If you are looking to purchase a pair of cheap sunglasses you are reminded that you usually give up all of the advantages listed above and you could be doing damage to your eyesight. For example, if your sunglasses provide no UV protection and are just colored lens, you increase your exposure to UV rays. Cheap sunglasses work to limit some of the light reaching your eye causing your iris to open wider to let in more light. This, in turn, allows more UV light to reach your retina ultimately increasing the potential for damage to your eyesight.

Choose wisely and protect your eyes. Buying the right pair of high quality sunglasses will give you years of unsurpassed eye protection and vision performance enhancement.