As we gather more information on vision impairment conditions and issues like myopia and eye strain, the public’s awareness of eye health grows. This is spurring the development of more advanced and modern lenses, from reading glasses to bifocals. In fact, the spectacle lens market will witness a compound annual growth rate of 5.23% between 2023 and 2028 as more researchers and brands develop lenses.
If you’re someone who hasn’t found the perfect lenses to complement or address your eyes’ issues, you can thank the above eyewear advancements for providing a number of modern lens technologies for you to choose from. Below are a few that may suit your needs:
Blue-violet lenses
You may have heard of blue light lenses protecting you against blue light from the sun and your digital devices. This is not to be confused with blue-violet light, a type of blue light that has the shortest wavelengths. It carries more energy, damaging the eyes more intensively than any other light. Constant exposure to it can thus damage your retinal cells, potentially leading to problems like age-related macular degeneration and permanent vision loss.
Luckily, new lenses are developed to shield your eyes from this harmful light. Glasses Direct’s range of blue light glasses to buy online have lenses that protect against blue-violet light from natural and artificial sources, such as the sun and digital screens, respectively. They are available for both prescription and non-prescription glasses, so everyone can access these lenses. With this modern lens technology, more people can prevent blue-violet light from damaging their eye health.
Gold-coated anti-fog lenses
Eyeglasses usually fog up when there’s a sudden change in temperature, such as when you’re entering a heated room from the snowy outdoors. This is caused by water vapor, humidity, or even sweat and breath. Although you can easily wipe or wait for the fog to disappear, there are instances where having impaired vision due to this is dangerous. This includes crossing the street, driving, or approaching staircases. While there are also anti-fog sprays that you can use on your lenses, these make dust and other particles—which can also obstruct your eyesight—stick to your lenses.
Fortunately, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology recently developed gold-coated anti-fog lenses. The ultra-thin gold coating can harness the sun’s heat to warm lenses and prevent fog formation during temperature changes. It’s a more efficient way to make your glasses anti-fog and prevent accidents caused by temporary vision blocks.
Scratch-resistant lenses
Many people use their eyewear for protective purposes aside from vision correction. For instance, people in the construction or hardware industries wear glasses or goggles to shield their eyes from debris, like wood splinters. Given this, it’s easy for their glasses to get scratched. Even if you’re not a construction professional, you most likely have experienced getting scratches on your glasses after setting them down haphazardly or dropping them.
Such instances can be avoided thanks to the development of Crizal lenses, which are currently the most scratch-resistant lenses on the market. These use an anti-reflective and a hydrophobic topcoat that resists dust particles and other foreign elements, reducing their ability to make deep scratches on the lens’s surface. This will benefit eyeglass wearers with active lifestyles and those who cannot properly care for their eyewear, like seniors.
Quick transition lenses
Photochromic or light-adaptive lenses turn darker when exposed to sunlight. This transforms them from eyeglasses to sunglasses, providing convenience for their wearer. Despite this already amazing innovation, some people may find the transition period—which can take up to 2 minutes—too long. This is troublesome for users whose eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light.
DeepOptics.com has developed a solution to this problem; the innovative lens technology company created 2-in-1 smart glasses that turn from sunglasses into reading glasses with a quick swipe to the temple. It also lets you change your focus to any distance, instantly providing better visibility.
More advanced lens technologies address modern problems regarding eye health and concerns. If any of the lenses above benefit you, consider getting them for your next pair of glasses.