More people need reading glasses than ever before. Excessive screen times, sedentary lifestyles, and poor diets have led to an increasing number of people suffering from vision issues that require reading glasses. As a result, the reading glasses market is projected to reach $22.56 billion by 2030 from its current value of $15.56 billion.
Although there’s a belief that only older adults need reading glasses, many younger adults will also benefit from wearing them too. If you’re unsure if you need these, keep reading to find out more about reading and what to know when getting a pair:
What are reading glasses, and how do they work?
Reading glasses are different from regular eyeglasses. The lenses in reading glasses magnify small text and objects, helping your eyes focus on them better. For those with other vision issues, you can also get prescription eyeglasses customized to double as reading glasses. These would be bifocals or progressive lenses. Bifocals have two optical powers divided by a minuscule line. The lower half of these lenses are for reading, while the upper half has your prescription. Eyeglasses with progressive lenses work similarly, except they don’t show a line.
Since reading glasses are often associated with old age, you may assume that these have traditional or old-fashioned style frames. Luckily, many brands offer reading glasses with more modern facades. These include Ray-Ban’s New Wayfarer, Oakley’s Pitchman, and Kate Spade’s Lucyann Us.
Do I need reading glasses?
If you’re having trouble reading text and seeing objects at a close distance, consider getting reading glasses. You might be experiencing vision changes, such as presbyopia. This condition affects individuals entering middle age or those 40 years of age and older. However, young people can get premature presbyopia due to an underlying medical condition, like anemia or diabetes.
Presbyopia is characterized by decreased vision when looking at objects in close proximity, accompanied by headaches and eye pain due to strain. It’s caused by naturally occurring body changes, so it cannot be prevented. Getting reading glasses will help you adapt to this, enabling you to read and do daily tasks.
If you’re experiencing dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches from reading on electronic devices, you might need blue light glasses. These glasses block damaging blue light from screens, allowing you to continue using your devices more comfortably. You can also ask your optician if they can include blue light lenses on your reading glasses if you have presbyopia and need to use gadgets often.
What to know when getting your first pair of reading glasses
You need to pick a strength
Reading glasses have strengths, which are called diopters. These measure the power of your reading glasses. +0.25 is usually the lowest strength, and +4.00 is the highest. Thus, try reading glasses with various diopter strengths. Hold a book or magazine 14-16 inches away from your face to see if the text is easier to read before choosing a pair. These glasses only aim to help you read better at a close distance.
You can get them over the counter or with a prescription
On the other hand, reading glasses at eyewear retailers or optician’s clinics can add your prescription to the lenses, so you can have bifocals or progressive lenses. You can also choose different diopters for each eye and have your astigmatism or other vision problems corrected by getting reading glasses from these places.
Getting reading glasses is necessary for people with trouble seeing text up close. To ensure you get the right pair, you need to know what your vision requires and to get the glasses from the right places—whether at general stores or eyewear retailers.