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Sunglasses are a cultural statement, they can make you look misterious and desirable, sophistocated and cool. However, when a person days to wear sunglasses on a cloudy day some passerby's stare and wonder why you are wearing sunglasses on a day like that? Thinking we've taken the look a bit too far. This can knock a persons confidence and make them reluctant to wear sunglasses at all. Therefore, it is important to get the right combination for the specific situation.

How do sunglasses help?

Sunglasses can perform two functions

- They should reduced the brightness and glare in bright light.

- Protect the eyes from harmful UV light.

Some glasses have little or no tint but have full UV protection. These may be good on a overcast day. Some have tint and no UV proctect, this may help to reduce the brightness and glare of indoor light. However, a dark tint alone will not protect your eyes from UV light and may even be harmful as the tint makes your eye more comfortable, so you open them up and more the UV rays come into your eyes. So, whenever wearing sunglasses outside ensure they have full UV proctection.

What is UV light and how does it affect my eyes?

Light is tansmitted by waves and each colour has a frequency. These lightwaves come from the sun or an artificial light source and hit objects, some of the frequencies with be absorbed by the object others will be reflected off and our eyes pick these frequencies up and this is how see objects as certain colours.

Our eyes are unable to pick up some lightwave frequencies, one of these is Ultraviolet, or UV. UV light has a frequency of between 100 and 400 nanometers (nm)

there are three types of UV

UV-A and UV-B: Long exposure to these rays can cause significant eye damage including cataracts cornea damage, solar retinopathy and so on.

UV-C: Is mostly absorbed by the ozone layer so we not have to worry to much about it, at least not yet!

- UV radiation is most intense between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Is stronger at high altitudes and closer to the equator.
- The reflective qualities of snow, sand and water amplify the effects of UV radiation
- Clouds can allow up to 80% of UV reach our eyes.

Therefore, whether sunny, cloudy, Hot or cold you will need UV proctection.

When looking for sunglasses make sure

- They contain 99 or 100% UV protection or absorb up to 400 nanometers, which means the same thing.

- They protect against both UV-A and UV-B. All other sunglasses should be ignored.

If you don't have to wear prescription sunglasses you'll find that price does not affect how much UV protection the glasses have. Cheap plastic lenses can block UV rays just as well as the most expensive designer glass ones, though some cheaper shades are prone to distortion that can increase eye fatigue. (To check for this, hold the glasses at arm's length, close one eye, and look through them at the edge of a door or window. If the edge becomes wavy, or curves as you move the glasses from side to side, choose another pair.)

How do Tints help?

Tints

Tints do not protect against the harmful affects of UV light but they do reduce the affects of disabling and discomfort glare. Tints can come in varying degrees coverage. Coverage is often a personal choice and can depend on the lighting conditions, for example a dark tint would not be appropriate for a overcast day and a light tint would not be appropriate for a very bright day. Some people will choose to have a number of different glasses where as others will choose to combine the different tints they need into one pair of glasses.

Gradient: Shaded from top to bottom. (A double-gradient lens is dark at the top and bottom, and lighter in the middle.) Driving glasses are often gradated so that you can see the dashboard clearly.

Photochromic: Automatically darkens and lightens as light conditions change. Cheaper photochromic lenses won't get very dark, and take some time to adjust to changes in light.

Different colour lenses stop certain colour frequencies from getting too the eye (UV-light is always able to get through). Again, color preference is a personal choice as your preference to one colour depends on many factors not all directly visual. However, in general it is believed that some colours can have benifits. Not all proffessional eyecare speciallists believe this, you can make up your own mind.

Gray or green-tinted: Offer the least amount of color distortion; good for all-purpose use and clear days.

Amber and orange: Block blue light, offering a brighter view on cloudy, hazy, or foggy days.

Gold and yellow: Add contrast; best in flat and dim-light situations.

Brown: Best for enhancing depth perception.

Rose: Has the highest contrast and best low-light image resolution.

Mirrored: Reduces the amount of light that reaches the eyes; good at high altitudes.

It might be an idea to find a suitable colour to wear on cloudy/winter days. this will be a more acceptable fashion statement and make you more feel comfortable

To find out more about lens material and frames, go to the specticle page

It is particularly important for children to protected from UV light and glare. To find out more about Sunglasses for babies and children go to http://www.babysunglasses.org/

Sunglasses are only a partial solution to photophobia. Fifty percent of sunlight comes from directly overhead and can reach your eyes over the top of your sunglasses. for the best results sunglasses should be used in conjunction with a hat with a wide brim.