No, reading glasses do not make your vision worse.
What happens is that the lens inside your eye – that bends and flexes to provide you with that wonderful focusing ability – starts to stiffen as early as childhood.
By age 40, you start to notice that your near vision gets blurry. That’s because the lens – as well as its supporting structures, known together as the “focusing system” - can’t bend enough to focus quite as effectively where you want it.
Why Your Vision is Blurry Without Glasses
When you put on your readers, it does the focusing work for you, so your eyes start to relax. Then, when you take off your readers, your eyes have to muster up the power to refocus without the aid of a pair of eyeglasses.
So, the eyeglasses act as a support. They don’t make your vision worse. You certainly notice the difference even more when you don’t have the additional support from your eyeglasses.
This gets increasingly harder for your focusing system to do as time passes by. It takes longer and longer for your eyes to focus, so that’s why you feel like it’s getting worse.
Readers are just optical aids to make the things you read sharpen so it’s easier to see. They don’t harm your eyes or alter them in any way. But, if they start to not work despite changing the power, it’s a good idea to see your nearest eye doctor to ensure that it’s not an eye health problem like a retinal detachment, macular degeneration, or cataracts.
Tips For Better Vision and Focus
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes look away at least 20 feet for 20 seconds. This will give your eyes a break throughout the day and relieve any prolonged eye strain.
- Put refrigerated artificial tears in your eyes. It’s like a cold shower for your eyes and it will instantly wake up and revitalize them especially if they’re feeling tired.
- If working on a computer, try to adjust the screen so it’s perfectly focused when you have your readers on. This will go a long way to relieve eye strain.
- For those interested in eye exercises, you can do a “pencil pushup.” Hold a regular pencil arm’s length away from you and move it in until the tip becomes blurry. Do this a few minutes a day.
The Bottom Line
Reading glasses don’t make your vision worse. That said, it is vital to make sure your reading glasses are equipped with the proper magnification for your needs. If your magnification is wrong, you will experience symptoms that will only make your vision worse. Lastly, if you are still experiencing vision problems and are unsure of the cause, make sure to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor.
Looking for Reading Glasses?
Shop Now
