Ever since the invention of glasses in late 13th century Italy, they’ve served as a practical solution to common vision problems. Glasses can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
Modern materials like polycarbonate make the lenses shatter-resistant. That’s a boon for parents and anyone self-describing as clumsy.
If eyeglasses are so wonderful, why do so many people wear contacts instead of glasses?
It turns out that glasses also come with their fair share of challenges. So let’s jump in and look at some of the reasons you should pick contacts over glasses.
1. Alter Your Eye Color
Glasses excel at correcting your vision and not much else. You can make some style choices, which we’ll talk more about below. Still, it’s metal and plastic sitting on your face.
No matter how nice your glasses, your eyes will still stay the same color behind them.
Now, contacts tell a different story. You can get colored lenses for the specific purpose of changing your eye color. It’s the sole reason some people wear contacts over glasses.
It’s not a miracle change. You’ll struggle if you want your extremely dark eyes to look sky blue. A dark blue, however, is an achievable goal.
2. Simple Replacement
If your glasses get broken, securing replacement glasses can take some time.
In many cases, the eyeglass provider you select will strongly suggest a new eye exam. You must schedule and show up for the exam. That can take a few days.
Once you place the order, the lenses must get cut for the frames you select. You can wait for a week or more from when you order to when the glasses arrive.
Many contact lens wearers order disposable lenses these days. You wear them for a day and then toss them. That means ordering new lenses is a common occurrence with fast turnaround time.
You just call your normal provider and put in the order. Out of town for while in Idaho? You can visit a website for a local provider, like this website, and order new contacts there.
At worst, you just get your normal contact provider to forward your prescription. No eye exam or visits with an eye specialist necessary.
3. Fashion
You can choose glasses that help define your fashion style. Go with thick, black plastic and you advertise your hipster cred. Pick frameless glasses and you announce your allegiance to a minimalism common to business execs.
The unfortunate reality is that glasses don’t work for every look. Attending a black tie dinner? Those hipster glasses won’t get you far.
Dressing for a night at the club? Rimless specs won’t impress.
Contacts don’t create visual noise that disrupts an otherwise ideal look.
4. Makes Physical Activity and Sports Easier
Any glasses wearer who plays sports or enjoys serious physical activity share a similar plight. You worry about the glasses falling off or getting broken by an impact.
You can opt for sports goggles, but those often prove uncomfortable and distracting. Glasses also don’t correct your peripheral vision. Surrounding your corrected field of vision is a huge area of fuzzy shapes and motion.
Peripheral vision plays a key role in several sports. Basketball demands good peripheral vision because so much activity happens off to either side of a player.
Since contact lenses effectively sit on the eye, they correct your entire field of vision. That improved peripheral vision can make you a more effective player.
Your capacity for focusing on nearby objects fades as you age, particularly in your forties. These days, you can get progressive contact lenses that correct for that as well. It makes sports practical for people over forty.
5. Less Risk of Losing or Breaking
One of the biggest problems with glasses is that you can easily lose or break them.
For example, say that you take them off while reading. You rush out of the room to check on a noise. You come back for them and can’t remember where you put them down.
Even worse, you sit down on the couch, bed, or chair and hear a telltale crunch. The thing that was your glasses is now missing an arm and one of the lenses popped out.
Maybe you can fix them or get them fixed, but you might end up replacing them.
With contact lenses, you typically put them in and take them out in the same place every day. You also don’t take them off for casual activities like reading.
That means you always know where to find them. They’re either in your eye or in their case. It’s also difficult to break contacts accidentally.
6. Safer in Some Situations
Every drive at night with glasses on? It can prove a miserable experience.
Glasses pick up reflections and even glare off of other vehicles headlights. Those reflections and glare can obstruction your vision. Say that obstruction happens while you drive down a highway at 70mph.
It can mean you miss that car with the broken tail lights merging into your lane or the suicidal deer jumping into the road.
Contact lenses also don’t fog over or collect rain droplets. Neither is a big deal most of the time. It’s can prove a very big deal if you run power tools or construction equipment.
Parting Thoughts on Reasons to Wear Contacts Instead of Glasses
Glasses can fix several of the most common vision problems. They’re widely available and affordable for most people. Yet, there are several reasons to wear contacts instead.
They can alter your eye color. A perk many people enjoy. They can also make certain fashion options work better for you.
Contacts make sports and other physical activities easier and more practical. They can even improve your play by removing a distraction.
It’s difficult for you to lose or break contact lenses. Contacts also make you safer in situations where glare, fogging, or rain on your glasses can prove dangerous.
Not everyone wants the daily hassle of either glasses or contacts. Looking for a more permanent solution to your poor vision? Check out our post on choosing a laser eye center.