BY ERICKA SO
March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month and if you didn’t already know it, your glasses can make a big difference to the well-being of your eyes. Whether you spend your day in a cubicle or a car, there are plenty of ways to customize your glasses to meet the needs of your workplace – and keep your eyes in good shape in the process.
Here’s a look at three common workplaces and a lens and lens enhancement suited to each.
1. In the Office
If you’re sitting behind a desk, staring at a computer monitor all day, the right lens and coating choice can reduce digital eye strain, visual fatigue, and even alleviate ergonomic discomfort.
Computer Vision Lenses – Computer vision lenses like Unity® CVx are designed to put the power of your prescription in the range of viewing where your computer monitor resides. This keeps your monitor in focus and eliminates the need to move your head up, down, and all around just to focus on the task at hand.
Blue Light Coating – Enhancing your lenses with a blue light coating like TechShield Blue helps reduce your exposure to the high-energy blue light coming from your computer screen, tablet, or smartphone. Blue light exposure can lead to digital eye strain in as little as two hours of exposure. And unless you’ve got the job of a lifetime, you’re probably putting in more than a couple hours a day in front of a screen.
Bonus tip! Add a blue light coating to your computer vision lenses for the ultimate office package.
2. Outside of the Office
Whether you swing a hammer, enforce the law, or help people find the home of their dreams, working outdoors can expose your lenses to breakage and your eyes to UV.
Polycarbonate Lenses – Polycarbonate lenses are shatterproof, impact resistant, and completely block UV light, so they’re better suited for outdoor professions prone to occasional flying debris or other minor impacts. Please keep in mind, if your profession requires you to wear safety eyewear, be aware of ANSI standard requirements for both frame and lens.
Light-Reactive Lenses – Light-reactive lenses automatically change from clear indoors to dark outdoors. In addition to giving you an indoor and outdoor pair of prescription glasses in one frame, light-reactive lenses like SunSync provide 100% UV protection. And as dangerous as a flying rock can be to your eyes, ongoing UV exposure can lead to cataracts, sunburned cornea, and cancer.
Bonus tip! Combine polycarbonate and light-reactive lenses for the ultimate outdoor solution.
3. Behind the Wheel
From ride-share services to delivery services, more and more people call the cab of their car or truck their workplace these days. And there may be no working environment where clear, comfortable vision is more important than behind the wheel.
Polarized Prescription Sunglasses – Polarized prescription sunglasses offer you the precise vision of your standard prescription lenses with the added benefits of reducing glare and blocking out any UV light that gets past your windshield. Less glare, less squinting, and less strain on your eyes.
Extra-Active Light-Reactive Lenses – Differentiated from standard light-reactive lenses by the fact that they get darker and stay dark in the car, extra-active light-reactive lenses like SunSync Drive XT are ideal if you want glare reduction and UV protection but don’t want to splash the cash on a pair of standard glasses and a pair of prescription suns. These lenses give you the benefits of both in one package. You can also add an anti-reflective coating which helps reduce the glare from oncoming headlights at night when your light-reactive lenses are in their clear state.
Bonus tip! Enhance your extra-active light-reactive lenses with an AR coating for best results behind the wheel.
Remember to talk to your eye doctor about what lens options are the best fit for you and your work environment. Need to make an appointment with an eye doctor? Find a VSP network practice near you.
This is a guest post by VSP employee, Paul J.