Tinted lenses look cool and add a certain charm and style to your glasses—but do they actually provide any visual benefits? If you've always wanted a pair of rose-colored glasses (or purple, or blue, or any other color), learn more about the effects of tinted lenses on your vision.
It can help reduce eye fatigue.
Eye fatigue is a common problem—to the point where many people accept that it's an inevitable part of dealing with their day. However, tinted lenses in the right tones can help reduce some of the overhead glare caused by indoor fluorescent lights, which are all-too-common in offices and stores. Pink or rose-colored lenses are a great choice for people who spend a lot of time on the computer or gaming, and they can also reduce the glare associated with car headlights during nighttime driving.
It can increase your perception of detail.
The light waves at the blue end of the spectrum are the strongest, and they can limit your perception of other colors and make them seem washed out or dull. Blue light can even interfere with your eye's ability to focus, especially if you're outdoors. Specialists recommend copper, amber, or bronze-colored lenses to highlight contrasts between light and shadow in the natural environment. These colors are particularly popular among people who spend a lot of time on the water or in snowy conditions, where blue light is emphasized. However, it's also a good option for people who are struggling with other causes of low visual acuity, like age-related macular degeneration.
It can protect sensitive eyes from too much light.
Some people just have naturally sensitive eyes that don't react well to overwhelming amounts of light, which can constantly bombard you from indoors and out. For some people, the perfect solution is a pair of photo-sensitive lenses that automatically shift their tint when you go inside and out so that they're clear inside and look like sunglasses outside. For other people, however, having their lenses tinted with a permanent shade of grey isn't necessarily a bad idea. Gray lenses are a great "neutral" look that doesn't stand out (if the idea of looking a little too conspicuous bothers you) and they serve as a great general purpose tint that can protect your eyes from glare.
If you've never had tinted lenses before, talk to your optometrist about what sort of tint would work best for you and what depth of tint you feel comfortable trying. You may even want to consider a gradient tint, where the lenses are darker at one end than the other, giving you a wider range of flexibility.
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