Sometime around 50, print gets smaller, and restaurants get dimmer---at least that’s how it seems. Women usually need reading glasses first and often need stronger lenses than men.
Lack of Focus
Just like a camera, our eye has a lens to focus on different distances, but when we get older, that lens doesn’t adjust as much. It’s like a camera lens getting stuck and not rotating to focus all the way. The eye lens, which is right behind the coloured part (the iris) of the eye, gets too stiff, or the muscles that reshape the eye lens to focus on close objects get weak.
Tiny Focus Area
Your eyes actually have only a tiny area near the center of your vision, where you can focus clearly. Most of our vision is somewhat blurry, but our brain fills in the details. Even with 20/20 vision, less than 1% of your eye sees clearly. Your clear vision is roughly the size of a quarter held at arm’s length---pretty small. We literally have a line of sight that is clear. That is why you can’t read words you’re not looking directly at, even words on the same line. Reading requires a lot of eye movement.
We’re all Blind
That’s not even considering our blind spot. Everyone has an area of their vision that is totally black. It’s where the nerve comes into the eye. We don’t notice it because our brain fills in the blind spot with the surrounding area. It’s good to be mindful of this, especially when you’re driving. Check twice to be sure.
I Can See the Light
Your eye is most light-sensitive away from the clear focus area in the center. If you are trying to see something dim, but it doesn’t have to be crisp, look slightly off to the side of the object. This is a great way to see faint stars at night.
I Can Do It
Trying to get away with not using reading glasses can cause headaches and eyestrain. Reading glasses don’t make your eyes worse. But you can train your eyes, or really your brain, to see better. Pushing the limit of what you can see several times a week for 20 minutes can improve your brain’s ability to de-blur small print. There are phone apps for eye training, and some are effective.
Stock Readers
If you don’t need prescription glasses, or if you wear contacts, ordinary, cheap reading glasses might do the trick. Get the lowest power that will work for you. Most reading glasses are tuned to work at about 15 inches, so be sure to try them at that distance.
Prescription Readers
If you wear prescription glasses, you may not be able to use off-the-shelf reading glasses. You’ll need to get prescription readers. If you do a lot of reading or close work, it’s best to get a dedicated pair instead of bifocals. Bifocals are good for occasional use, not long sessions of reading or close work. It is possible to get contact lenses that correct for reading by making one eye focus for reading and the other for long distance, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
Multi Vision
The advantage of bifocals and the newer progressive lenses (no-line bifocals) is that one pair of glasses works at different distances. Progressive lenses don’t have a line like bifocals do---they gradually transition from near to far. The downside of progressive lenses is they are blurry in the areas between your far vision and reading glasses area. Wearing either bifocals or progressive reading glasses takes a bit of getting used to, progressives more so.
Computer Glasses
Computer viewing distance is farther from your eyes than reading. If you spend more than an hour a day looking at a computer screen, an investment in dedicated computer glasses may be worth it. But first, make sure your computer monitor is placed correctly. The top of the monitor should be level with your eyes or slightly lower. Avoid placing your monitor in areas with glare. Take a 30-second break from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something far away. Amber lenses that filter blue light are not essential except in the evening---blue light can keep you awake.
Surgical Options
It is possible to get eye surgery to help with reading, but the risks are not worth the potential benefit for most people. The surgery primarily works by making one eye work for reading and the other work for distance. This tends to reduce depth perception. Some newer techniques seek to correct vision across near and far distances, but the kinks are still being worked out, so it may be best to wait and use reading glasses.
Enhanced Vision
Although reading glasses don’t make your eyes worse, it can seem that way because your brain loses its ability to de-blur tiny letters. Daily practice “seeing” keeps your brain’s vision enhancement system sharp. This can involve using a phone app or just reading the smallest type you can make out. For the rest of the day, if you need reading glasses, wear them to reduce eye strain and headaches.
