Colored Sunglass Lenses Can Improve Your Sight

January 7, 2010 at 12:40 am Chad Upton Leave a comment

Let me be clear, they don’t improve the focusing power of your eyes but they can change the way things look so you recognize them more easily. That’s important when reaction time is critical.

Yellow lenses are a popular option but it’s a myth that they make things brighter — they do not amplify light. But, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, they do enhance depth perception. This is because they block some of the blue light that can make objects look hazy and reduce sharpness.

For this reason, yellow lenses are popular with pilots, cyclists, shooters and boaters in low light. In daylight, blue lenses are good for pilots and skiers because they enhance the contrast between objects that are white (snow and clouds) and other objects. For boaters, red lens are good because they increase the contrast between water and objects that are in the water.

Although colored lenses can increase contrast in specific conditions, the downside with any colored lens is that they obviously distort color. Brown colored lenses are the happy-medium; they offer minimal color distortion while improving contrast, so they’re great for everyday use.

BrokenSecrets.com

Big thanks to Todd for sharing this secret with me!

Sources: American Academy of Ophthalmology (PDF)