Winter time – time for reading

Winter is still all around us: the wet and cold weather will chill you to the bone; there’s snow and rain; night time creeps in early. Hardly anyone feels inclined to go outdoors. After all, it is so much more comfortable in your cuddly warm home. It’s a great time for reading, playing entertaining board games with the entire family, having a cosy chat while sipping on a hot cup of tea and sharing a plate of cookies with dear friends. However, those of you who are over 40 may have noticed quite clearly that you might need a reading aid to make these situations more enjoyable. Only precision lenses can guarantee that reading will continue to be fun for you.

Outside it is still cold, dark and rather unpleasant. However, if you grab a wool blanket, a hot beverage and an enthralling book, you will make it through the cold season much more easily. Obviously, good vision is the most important pre-requisite for undiminished reading fun. However, many people who are 40 and older will find that the lens on the interior of the eye has already lost so much of its elasticity that it has a tough time bending or to accommodate itself, which is what experts call this function. This means that seeing things at distances of less than one metre becomes increasingly taxing on the eye. Letters appear to be blurred when reading and the eye has to work very hard to recognise them.

In such cases, a pair of reading glasses is a very helpful tool. If you want only the very best for your eyes, choose ZEISS precision lenses . A customised pair of reading spectacles is not only perfectly aligned with the vision strength and anatomy of the user, but also optimised for the desired close range vision zones. Today, a variety of spectacle lens solutions are available that can cover different vision distances and zones. Among the choices you will find everything from traditional study glasses to simple reading glasses (made specifically for reading) and to contemporary study glasses (for reading, relaxed working on the laptop or playing a game at the living room table) to Plus series study glasses (for clear indoor vision at ranges of up to about 4m). Choose your study glasses based on what you expect it to be able to do. Your optometrist will be pleased to assist you.

Today, thanks to state-of-the-art ZEISS technology, you can also keep the weight of your spectacles to an absolute minimum. Even readers suffering from severe vision problems can now enjoy the benefits of thin, flat and lightweight lenses that are very comfortable to wear.

Beware: It is now possible to purchase so-called ready-to-wear reading glasses at numerous outlets, such as drug stores, gas stations and supermarkets. While these are lower priced than personalised quality reading glasses, they come with the inherent disadvantage that the lens strength has not been customised for the eyes variations in dioptres between both eyes nor astigmatism have been taken into account. Possible consequences: after reading just a few pages of a book, the user may suffer from a headache or feel nauseous. He or she may even have a migraine attack or once again see only blurred letters on the page. None of this should happen with customised reading glasses. Users enjoy optimum reading comfort and their eyes deliver more relaxed and perfect vision for hours. These glasses can even compensate for possibly existing astigmatism.

Another important point to remember: Consumers who purchase reading glasses in a supermarket and do not know their own exact vision strength, will have to select suitable reading glasses based on a sample text to read. Research has shown that most users choose reading glasses that are too strong for them as a result. While this may feel like a good option at first because it appears that one’s vision has improved, it is an approach that does come with inherent downsides: a too strong lens will limit the distance ranges for which you can use the glasses considerably, especially in the mid-range “study” distance (typical for office work or computer vision for example). If, on the other hand, you opt for a customised precision lens by ZEISS, they will be optimally adjusted to the desired vision ranges.

If you do not know how strong your vision is or if you have not had a test for an extended period of time, consider making an appointment with your optometrist. Having the exam will be worth your while as it ensures that your study or reading glasses will be optimally adjusted to the needs of your eyes. As a result, you will continue to enjoy cuddling up with a good book for hours – and not only in the winter time.