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Sunglasses are not just a cool fashion accessory but also an essential piece of safety equipment for your eyes. A good pair of sunglasses will prevent the eye trauma associated with the bright sunlight you will hopefully be experiencing on your trip to the beach. A bad pair is next to useless. When choosing your next pair of sunglasses for the beach, follow the few simple steps below to ensure you are getting the best protection whilst still looking cool in your shades.
1. Ensure your selection blocks out 100% of UVA and UVB radiation. Just because the lenses are tinted doesn't mean they offer this kind of protection, no matter how dark that tinting is, so ensure you read the labels or ask knowledgable sales staff before making that purchasing decision.
2. Polarised lenses block out horizontally polarized light such as the glare from sunlight hitting water or reflecting off the hood of your car. This makes them ideal for the beach.
3. Find a lens tint which filters out at least some blue light which studies have shown leads to macular degeneration over time. Amber/Brown tinted lenses filtered out most blue light and UV rays but distort colour perception whilst green tinted lenses offer the best colour perception whilst filtering out some parts of the blue area of the colour spectrum. Yellow tints are also good at blocking out blue light but again, really distort colours whilst for general purpose use, a grey tinting offers a reduction in glare and brightness with least amount of colour distortion. Choose a lens which suits your lifestyle and the activity you are most likely to be using them for.
4. If you intend to play beach games like beach volleyball, then ensure your sunglasses are shatterproof to prevent sports injuries.
5. The fit of your sunglasses is also very important. They should fit closely to your skin as when wearing sunglasses your pupils are fully dilated and any UV light which gets in through the top or sides of a poorly fitting pair will be hitting a wide open, exposed dilated eye. A wide brimmed hat also offers a lot of protection in this case as does side -arm protection.
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