The other day, when I went to my local optician to get new glasses, they recommended a new type of lens.
The lenses have a stronger prescription near the center and a weaker prescription at the bottom, similar to a milder version of bifocal glasses for presbyopia.
The product was named "ChikaRaku (or Eye Relax)".
Since it only cost about 3000 yen more, I decided to give it a try.
I will write about my impressions of using it and other aspects.
Problems with regular eyeglasses
The biggest problem with regular glasses is that the same correction is applied whether you're looking at something far away or something close up.
People whose nearsightedness is progressing are those whose ability to see things far away has weakened because they frequently look at things at close range.
In other words, regular glasses correct your vision so that you can see things far away clearly.
If you wear glasses that help you see things far away but continue to look at things up close while wearing them, your nearsightedness will worsen, and you will need even stronger correction.
The problem with regular glasses is that they often require strong correction for distance vision, even though weak correction is sufficient for close-up vision.
Benefits of "ChikaRaku"
These "ChikaRaku" lenses have a slightly weaker correction in the lower part of the lens to help you see things up close.
In other words, it's designed to avoid excessive correction when you're looking at your smartphone, monitor, books, or documents.
Indeed, if you don't need strong correction for close-up vision but are correcting your eyes to the level required for distance vision, it will put a strain on your eyes.
I found it interesting that the correct correction for different distances could be performed within a single lens.
The mechanism is similar to bifocal glasses for presbyopia, but it can be described as a lighter version of bifocal glasses tailored for younger people.
kalhh / Pixabay
However, it's important to note that you shouldn't tilt your head down completely when looking at your hands.
You need to look by tilting only your eyes downwards, without moving your head much.
If you move your entire head, you'll end up using the part of the lens designed for distance vision (near the center) to see things up close, resulting in an effect not much different from regular glasses.
Actual experience
To be honest, I'm not really sure if my eyes are tired or not.
However, the degree of correction changes depending on whether you're looking at something far away or something close up, so there's a brief moment of discomfort.
However, it's hardly noticeable.
Other than that, I haven't noticed any significant differences from before.
An unexpected benefit is that, since moving your whole head when looking at something close up defeats the purpose, I've become more conscious of maintaining good posture and only lowering my eyes.
I'm naturally prone to slouching, so this kind of conscious effort might help improve my posture.
summary
I've been using Megane Ichiba's new lens, "ChikaRaku (Eye Relax)," which is supposed to alleviate eye strain, but so far I haven't noticed any dramatic effects.
However, the price only increases by about 3,000 yen, so it might be worth it if you consider it an investment in your own eyes.
I'm hoping that by using it for several years, I can at least slow down the rate at which my eyesight deteriorates.