Vision correction has come a long way over the last couple of centuries. Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of America and prolific inventor, is credited with creating bifocals. In 1784 he wrote to his friend that he was “happy in the invention of double spectacles, which serving for distant objects as well as near ones, make my eyes as useful to me as ever they were.”
Since then, innovative optical technology has brought us progressive lenses, transition lenses, protective coatings that reduce glare and UV light, and more. Despite these advances in optometric eyewear, wearing glasses can still feel less than modern.
One of the greatest leaps in vision correction is LASIK, freeing us from the burden of glasses or contacts.
Why is LASIK so much better than wearing glasses? To start, one of the most frustrating and ironic problems is looking for lost glasses. In sitcoms and movies, they are found when someone steps on them. Here are some of the many other reasons life is better without glasses:
No More Lens Cleaning
Easily the most endless upkeep of wearing glasses is the nearly constant need to clean them. If you just do the convenient “huff and wipe with your shirt” method (not recommended,) you risk scratching the lenses. To avoid that, you end up stashing bottles of cleaning solution and proper microfiber cleaning cloths – on your nightstand, in the bathroom, at your office, in the car console, etc.
No glasses mean no more cleaning glasses multiple times a day. Those five minutes a day add up to 30 hours a year!
No More Fogging Up
It’s freezing outside, you’re cold, and make your way inside where it’s warm. As soon as you reach the balmy embrace of heated air your glasses fog up, requiring a couple of minutes with blurry vision while they clear up or you wipe them off.
Most frequently asked question of the year at the optometrist office? How to get eyeglasses to stop fogging up when wearing a mask. People who wear glasses experience an extra burden of wearing a mask: not being able to see clearly half the time because the moisture from breathing keeps fogging up their lenses. (Tip: try wearing your glasses over the top of your face mask to further limit air escaping.)
Imagine seeing clearly when you open the dishwasher, sit in a steam room, wear a mask, or simply walk into a warm room from the cold outdoors.
Enjoy the Rain & Shine
On sunny days you end up squinting for hours. To solve this, one can buy a second pair of glasses that are prescription or upgrade to transition lenses that automatically adapt to changing light conditions. In a pinch, we can wear a big pair of sunglasses over our regular glasses. Not ideal, but better than developing a headache and permanent frown line between your eyebrows. Meanwhile, rain and snow bring different challenges, requiring incessant efforts to wipe glasses off in order to see clearly.
Without glasses, you can simply pop on some sunglasses when it is sunny or wipe your wet brow with your sleeve in the rain.
Better Night Vision
It’s hard for most people to see at night as it affects many aspects of vision, including depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision. Glasses make it harder. Fingerprint smudges further obstruct sight, and even clean glasses can cause problems by reflecting light from things such as street lamps, traffic lights, and headlights. (Tip: try anti-reflective coated lenses to reduce glare and help you see better driving at night.)
Hassle-Free Gym Time
Repeatedly nudging your glasses back into position while working out is annoying. Worse yet, jumping rope, jumping jacks, burpees, or even just reaching down for a dumbbell can end up with your glasses on the floor. Sweat adds to the challenge, reducing the friction that helps your glasses stay in position.
It is so freeing to be active without glasses that you may find yourself enjoying the gym more.
Safer Sports
In addition to the problems experienced at the gym, glasses also become a liability when playing a sport. They are at constant risk of falling off and being stepped on. And if you can keep them on your head, for example with retainer straps, people or flying objects may end up smashing them against your face.
Seeing clearly without anything in the way of you and the action is a clear win.
Comfortable Headphones
Sound quality isn’t the only thing that glasses-wearing audiophiles have to consider when selecting headphones. Circumaural (padded over-ear) headphones push the arms of glasses against your head, which is uncomfortable after a short while. “Ear hooks” are designed to be worn over the top of the ear, where your glasses’ arms are. There’s not much room there, so they often feel like they are about to fall off. That leaves you with limited options of earbuds or bone conduction headphones.
Without glasses, you can wear any kind of headphones and listen to your music, podcasts, and audiobooks, in total comfort.
See Clearly with Zero Effort or Hassle
After LASIK treatment, you can wake up every morning ready to see the world without having to do a thing. Nothing between you and seeing clearly.
Our highly trained LASIK specialists are here to help you make the step to seeing better effortlessly. Call one of our convenient locations in the Rio Grande Valley area at 844-485-3202 or prescreen your candidacy online first, then schedule an appointment.
