International Sunglasses day: recommended books and more

National Sunglasses Day is a commemorative date held annually on June 27 celebrating the importance of wearing shades to protect the eyes from the sun’s harsh ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Why are shades so important?

Don’t take your eyes for granted. The right pair of shades will help protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Extent up to which UV rays can harm to your eyes

There are two types of UV rays: UV-A and UV-B. Over time, the effects of UV rays may help cause a number of eye problems.

UV-A

can hurt your central vision. It can damage the macula, a part of the retina at the back of your eye.

UV-B

The front part of your eye (the cornea and the lens) absorbs most UV-B rays, but these rays may cause even more damage to your eyes than UV-A rays.

Hence its important to choose a best wearable to your eyes.

In this post I will be discussing the various aspects which can help you to choose the same for you.

You can also go for some contact lenses which provide UV protection, they don’t cover your whole eye, so you still need sunglasses.

Look for sunglasses that protect you from 99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB light. This includes those labeled as “UV 400,” which blocks all light rays with wavelengths up to 400 nanometers. (This covers all of UVA and UVB rays.)

You can also go for the wraparound sunglasses to prevent harmful uv rays entering to your eyes.

Now what are wraparound frames?

Wraparound also called “wrap” for short. Type of eyeglass or sunglass frame that curves around the head, from the front to the side. Wraparound sunglasses offer extra sun and wind protection at the sides. Most cannot accept prescription lenses, because the curvature causes optical distortion. However, some of the newer styles have been engineered to overcome this problem.

Various Factors

Fit:

A pair that doesn’t fit well can let UV rays seep into your skin and into your eyes.

“I look at something that fits the face well,” says optometrist Fraser Horn, OD. “I don’t want it up touching the eyelashes, but I also don’t want it pushed way out. And I want something that lines up with your brow.”

Sunglasses that wrap around your eyes can help block stray UV light. They can also keep out sand and allergens. Those things aren’t good for your eyes, either.

Polarized lens:

These reduce glare at the beach, in the snow, or out on the water. But they don’t take the place of UV protection.

Why polarized?

Light usually scatters in all directions; but when it’s reflected from flat surfaces, it tends to become polarized — meaning it travels in a more uniform (usually horizontal) direction. This creates an annoying and sometimes dangerous intensity of reflected light that causes glare and reduces visibility.

Polarized lenses contain a special filter that blocks this type of intense reflected light, reducing glare.

Though polarized sunglasses improve comfort and visibility, you will encounter some instances when these lenses may not be advisable. One example is downhill skiing, where you don’t want to block light reflecting off icy patches because this alerts skiers to hazards they are approaching.

In addition, polarized lenses may reduce the visibility of images produced by liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or light-emitting diode displays (LEDs) found on the dashboards of some cars or in other places such as the digital screens on automatic teller machines and self-service gas pumps.

Darkness and Color:

Different color can lead to different effects on your eyes. I will try to elaborate about some of them a bit.

Gray:

Minimizes glare

Won’t dilute the perception of colors

Greatly reduces eye fatigue

Works well for driving in unfavorable weather such as fog, rain and sleet. Also works well for everyday outdoor activities due to the lens color not distorting the colors in bright or moderate light

Green:

Minimizes glare while brightening shadows of objects

Provides even color perception

Excellent for low light conditions

Works well for driving and outdoor activities such as baseball or golf

Brown/Tan:

Extremely useful to enhance contrast of grass and blue skies

Improves depth perception due to the “red element” in the color of the lens

This color can cause minor distortion so it’s not the most ideal color for driving

Works well for snow conditions and outdoor activities due to it being able to block out extensive amounts of blue light

This was all about color now I will talk about the type of lens you might choose for you.

Lenses:

What’s best: Shatterproof glass? Plastic? Some newfangled polycarbonate material? Again, it’s a matter of taste. How well they help you see matters a lot, too. Some lenses, especially the more curved ones, can cause distortion. But that’s not always the case.

“If you’re stopping by the gas station on the way to the lake to pick up sunglasses, you’re more likely to have something of lesser quality,” Horn says. But a higher price tag doesn’t always equal great image quality, he adds.

Books recommended by Google for those who want to read books related to Sunglasses:

1. Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean and Kimberly Dean

2.Cool Shades: The History and Meaning of Sunglasses by Vanessa Gill-Brown

3. The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman

4. Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins

5. Death, Taxes, and Cheap Sunglasses by Diane Kelly

Hope you enjoyed reading this post . So choose your best wearables on this holy day (:D) of national Sunglasses day.