Know the science behind choosing your coloured sunglasses

Sunglasses, Shades, Goggles, Specs, blah blah blah.. this was the most fantasized pair of shit I've always wanted. From childhood, I started bugging my dad to buy me a pair of these shiny looking eye-covering things so that I could go about in the bright sun to play cricket or roam around the city (which was just a reason to show off) and he always used to drag the issue to the point where he would win the argument of not having this pair owing to the worldwide deteriorating
eye-sight conditions which are more prevalent in children between the age groups of 12 to 18 years and he always used to live up to me by saying that he would get me the best pair once I turn 16, and it was in this hope that I waited long enough that before I turned 16, I prayed to God daily to change my dad’s thought process and escalate the issue. But God always played on my enemy side and hence lo and behold, my prayers have been answered and I now have a thick ugly looking pair of spectacles which I've always dreaded of wearing. Thanks to my eating habits and my addiction to playing video games, the thickness has been increasing similar to the IQ of an engineering student (small but significant).

Despite my inability to don the shades, I was always interested in how cool the different coloured shades would change my average looking facial contour and thereby I started trying out different colours whenever I stepped into a shopping mall. Although I never bought any of them I used to pester the sales men at the stores to show me more and more colours just to quench my curiosity and while I was at it, the people at the showroom used to curse me internally for wasting their valuable time and I could hear them whispering about me when I walked out of the shop empty handed. This went on for years and I gradually developed an interest on the colours of the shades rather than the form. I didn't know when my obsession for the colours started but it quite changed my perception of styles let it be Pilots, Rounds, Rimless, Wayfarers, or Wraps, I always used to end up with the selection of colours.

I always felt that black and mirrored reflecting surfaces are fair and square but wondered why in the world would any sun-glass manufacturing company go out of the way to produce shades of green, yellow, gold, rose, orange and sometimes double gradient tints, and hence I slowly started my research on the reasons why most manufacturing companies produce shades in different colours and I finally ended up finding out that there is a specific reason for each and every colour and this blew my brains out. I thought that it was always the cosmetic appeal that played the major role in the design of these products but I was astonished to find out some out of the box facts.

But before jumping into the colours, let me tell you that these three types namely Direct light, Reflected light and Ambient light play a vital role in the perception of the intensity and its reception by the eye and hence based on these light conditions the colours are to be chosen. The sunglasses with different colours are very functional and attractive but only the right lens for the right occasion can give you the advantage of using one.

Red:

Red Tinted sunglasses

I being in Michigan suffer from a condition called the “Snowy Weather” (I hate snow) for most of my year (almost 6 months) goes by in snow and its highly unlikely that I see sun in these six months and so I tried out different coloured lenses for my sunglasses and according to my research I found that the shades of Red serves the purpose. I found that my eyes strained less and was able to view the roads much clearer. It’s not normal to go for bicycle ride on a snowy day, but if I ever do that then I would venture out with the Red shaded sunglasses.

Yellow:

Yellow tinted sunglasses

Now yellow would look good for T-shirts with blue jeans, but for the eye-wear I strictly don’t prefer such inaccessible colour. But this one does have its own benefits, such as in foggy or smoky conditions this colour definitely helps us out in sorting out things by sifting out the blue light that makes it difficult to concentrate and it’s great for skiing, skydiving and other outdoor activities that involves a lot of sky view but let me remind you that this colour causes a lot of colour misrepresentation and hence I would suggest you to use it during the sunrise and sunset times.

Green:

Green tinted sunglasses

Now this is getting awkward, I have never seen anyone sport a green lens but I had read somewhere that this colour actually can be used in the rain which I have never tested out (yak..!! who would want to go out in the rain with green shades on his face) and to be honest, I would never want to use it (duh..!! I know that Green is good but I hated vegetables from childhood and I hate green). But the science says that it reduces glare by enhancing the shadows and provides greatest visual sharpness which should be good for all-purpose use (but guys..!! seriously?? Green??).

Gold/Amber/ Copper/ Orange:

copper color tinted sunglasses

This is interesting, chicks dig gold and as the history says gold is expensive. But with great price comes good quality and it appears to be true with this colour. Looks like this lens has a red element that can enhance the depth perception by making the environment look brighter and hence it can be used for games like Golf, high altitude sports, sailing where distance needs to be judged (expensive sunglasses for expensive games eh?).

Black/Grey:

Black tinted sunglasses

Provides good shielding from intense light with marginal distortion to the colours around us and provides true colour perception. Been always my favourite and it can blend along with any clothing style and any weather conditions and can be used at any outdoor sports.

Double gradient:

Gradient Tinted sunglasses

These are shaded from top to bottom and these can cut out the glare from the sky but allow you to see clearly below which is exceptionally good for driving but not so good at beach and snow as the water and snow reflects light back to the eyes. These are cosmetically appealing, fashionable, improves colour perception and can be generally used for watching sports (audience) and driving.

Good news:

There are some health benefits of coloured lenses and apart from making you look cool, these lenses cut out the blue light which causes sleeping problems and bipolar disorders by suppressing Melatonin and hence always make sure that the sunglasses that you choose can screen out 75-95% of visible light and for this, test the glasses by standing in front of a mirror and see if your eyes are visible, if they are, then they are probably too light. (see health benefits here)

There are other lenses such as polarized, photo-chromic, impact resistant glasses but my interest was only on the colours and I could only gather information on these and I feel that there’s lot more to explore.

“Always remember that you have only one pair and so you should protect them”

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