Sunglasses in the Winter?
Yes, you read that correctly. You need a pair of sunglasses for the winter, especially if you live in a snowy region of the country.
Here are 5 reasons why you should protect your eyes in the winter.
Lower Sun
During the winter season the sun is actually lower in the sky, causing your eyes to get more exposure to the sun than they would in the summer.
Snow Blindness
Snow reflects up to 85% of light back up. Why? That's because of the snows bright, white color. It causes the sun to reflect off of the snow and back into the atmosphere, doubling the light. So when it snows, you're getting direct light from the sun + you're getting hit from reflected light from the snow.
Exposing your eyes to the snow-sun can cause sunburned eyes, also known as snow blindness. With snow blindness, the cornea of the eye becomes sunburned causing blurry vision, burning, light sensitivity and more. Although super painful, this condition usually heals within a week.
Eye protection with a blue or yellow lens, solves this issue by filtering harmful UV rays from the sunlight.
Greater Glare
More sunlight is more glare and more glare is, you guessed it, less visibility! And obviously sunglasses reduce glare.
Stronger Winds
The winds of winter can dry your eyes and can also land dust and debris into your eyes. Of course, eye protection will block the debris from entering your eye and will also block your eyes from the wind which will protect your eyes from drying out and tearing.
More UV Exposure
Stronger sunlight equals more UV exposure, and as I'm sure you're aware, UV exposure is known to cause a host of conditions and diseases. It has also been shown to cause cataracts, macular degeneration, and other conditions in the eyes. Just by being in the sun for long periods of time can cause lens and retina damage.
Eye damage from UV exposture usually isn’t apparent at first, but shows up as you age. Proper eye protection filters out the UV light and are especially needed for people that are outdoors for extended periods of time such as (drum-roll) construction workers.