Polarized should be viewed as a tool that fine-tunes your vision while wearing protection against the sun. They are especially useful to athletes, outdoorsmen, fishers, and those with active lifestyles. Polarized lenses don’t offer any extra protection against UV light, but they do enhance your vision while doing outdoor activities.
Origin Of Polarized Lenses
NASA discovered the usefulness of polarized lenses when scientists studied eagles’ eyes to try and uncover more about their exceptionally sharp vision. They found that eagles have natural oil in their eyes that control specific properties of light, scattering, and restraining certain wavelengths. Scattering happens, for instance, when light bounces off the surface of the water, preventing you from seeing objects below and above the surface. Eagles depend on the oil in their eyes to overcome such challenges and retain sharp vision to catch their prey.Sharpening Your Vision During High-Glaring Situations
Scientists modified this discovery to produce special polarized filters that can be applied to sunglass lenses. These filters help with absorbing light scattered or reflected from horizontal surfaces. This is referred to as glare, and it can obstruct your vision, particularly in fast-moving or dangerous scenarios. Polarized glasses come in useful in high-glare situations like light reflecting from cars, roads, or water. Therefore, when selecting a pair of sunglasses, check for UV protection, but if you are active in sports, driving, or are often near water, you may want to consider polarized lenses to give you sharper vision. See this list of best polarized sunglasses for women. There is a broad selection of polarized lenses that you can choose from.Does The Shade Or Color Make A Difference?
The color of the lenses doesn’t influence sun protection; however, various tints can offer different advantages.- Gray – Neutral lenses like grey are excellent for outdoor sports, where you need to see colors clearly without glaring obstructing your vision. Perfect for jogging or running in the outdoors.
- Green – This is an all-purpose tint and helps with preserving color balance as well as evening out color perception. This shade is excellent for fishing and precision sports, enabling you to see the water clearly.
- Red – Red tints are known for improving visual depth and being soothing on the eyes.
- Amber / brown – Similar to green lenses, amber or brown helps with enhancing contrast, particularly against blue skies. Amber shades often give off a red element that enhances depth perception, which is especially useful when you are a road tripper or golfer.
- Purple / blue – Blue lenses are a stylish option and often resemble a mirrored look and feel. They are very useful in foggy, snowy, or misty conditions. They assist with reducing the bright white-light glare you see when looking at the snow or when you’re relaxing next to the pool on warm days.
