Workday Eyewear: Should You Get Computer Progressive Lenses?

If you work on a computer for the majority of your day, you might want to check out progressive lenses.

These eyeglass lenses are designed to help you see close up and far away, compensating for common eye issues like nearsightedness and farsightedness. They can make a big difference in your ability to see a screen clearly — making them a true game-changer for online work.

You can even find specialized computer progressive lenses with unique features that make them perfect for your workday. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about progressive lenses, including how they work and how to order a pair.

What Are Progressive Lenses?

If you’re not only new to the concept of computer progressive lenses, but are new to progressive lenses in general, here’s a quick overview of how they work.

Progressive lenses are multifocal lenses. They correct your near vision and your distance vision at the same time with a single lens. Unlike other multifocal lenses — like bifocal lenses and trifocal lenses — progressives have no line across the middle of the lens. So you can see clearly, and people can see your beautiful face clearly.

Usually people who already wore single-vision lenses to see at a distance will need to switch to progressive lenses as they get older and start to experience presbyopia. (That’s a fancy way of saying that their close-up vision gets worse and they start to need reading glasses as they age.) Presbyopia affects almost all of us at some point in our lives. However, sometimes younger people will also need progressive glasses if they have astigmatism.

Progressive glasses have a special lens design that gradually transitions from one focal length to another as you move your eyes up the lens. The bottom part of the lens corrects your near vision so you can read books and documents, the middle part of the lens corrects your intermediate vision so you can see the computer screen or a whiteboard, and the top part of the lens corrects your distance vision so you can drive or play sports.

It can take a little longer to get used to progressive lenses than it does to get used to other pairs of new glasses. But once you’ve adjusted, you’ll have clear vision at any distance.

Computer Progressive Lenses vs. All-Purpose Progressive Lenses

The downside of progressive lenses is that you have to look through a specific section of the lens to see at your desired distance. When the lens is correcting three focal lengths at one time, each section of the lens will be relatively small. (Although, choosing a pair of glasses with a big frame style can help.)

Most progressive wearers get used to looking through the correct part of the lens within a few weeks. And their all-purpose progressive glasses become comfortable for the majority of their daily tasks.

However, if you spend hours in front of a computer screen while wearing all-purpose progressive lenses, you may have to hold your head at an unnatural angle in order to look through the small section of your progressive lens that allows for comfortable computer vision. This can strain your neck, leading to tech neck, shoulder pain, and potentially, headaches.

Wearing a pair of computer progressive lenses while you work, instead of your all-purpose progressive lenses, could help prevent this issue. A pair of computer progressive lenses only corrects your near vision and your intermediate vision.

Because the lenses correct fewer fields of vision, a much larger part of your lens will be dedicated to helping you see at an intermediate distance, which also happens to be the computer distance. Being able to look through a larger portion of your lens means you don’t have to move your head as much to see your screen, which means you can maintain a more natural and ergonomic position while you work.

Essentially, these glasses could be the final piece of the puzzle for creating a comfortable and ergonomic workspace. But, because they don’t correct your distance vision, you should never wear them while you’re driving. Think of computer progressive glasses as your office lenses and all-purpose progressive glasses as your out-of-office lenses.

Computer Progressive Lenses vs. Regular Computer Glasses

Computer progressive lenses have some unique features that you might not find in a regular pair of glasses.

These lenses are designed to help you avoid common issues like eye strain, which makes them a cut above standard progressives for computer work. Computer vision syndrome is a real thing, and it’s a major concern for many people who spend the day looking at a screen.

Computer progressive lenses that are high-quality will most likely feature an anti-reflective coating and blue light filtering. These add-ons aren’t the standard for prescription glasses, and you might not need them per se, but they can be incredibly beneficial if your job involves lots of screen time.

Blue light filtering is especially helpful when you’re using a computer, even if you don’t need prescription lenses. You can find non-prescription blue light-filtering lenses in a variety of styles.

How Can You Get Computer Progressive Lenses?

To get a prescription for computer progressive lenses, talk to your optometrist. Your optometrist will want to know about the struggles you’re having when you use a computer with your all-purpose progressive lenses.

Your doctor may also ask you questions about how far you sit from your computer screen and what non-computer tasks you do during your workday. The more specifics you can give the better.

Take note of the farthest distance you need to see during your workday so your doctor can make sure the intermediate distance of your lenses will be strong enough to help you accomplish all of your tasks.

If you occasionally have to do a task that you need greater distance vision for, like driving or attending a large convention, you may have to switch to your all-purpose progressive glasses for that task and switch back to your computer glasses when you go back to computer work.

Once your doctor has figured out the ideal progressive lens prescription for your computer use, you’ll be ready to order new glasses. But remember, your computer progressive lenses shouldn’t be your only pair of glasses. You’ll also need an all-purpose pair that corrects your distance vision for when you drive or perform similar tasks.

From Work to Weekend

At Pair, we make it easy to express yourself and feel comfortable and confident in your glasses. Our unique Top Frames come in one-of-a-kind styles that you can instantly swap out based on your mood, including patterns inspired by your favorite fandoms and franchises.

In addition to providing incredible styles, we also help you support your eye health with single-vision, bifocal, and progressive lens options that fit the prescription you got from your eye doctor. You can easily import that prescription to our site and use it to order your next pair of glasses in just a few minutes.

With Pair, you get unique styles, high-quality lenses, and, as a bonus, helpful add-on features like blue light filtering, scratch resistant lens coatings, and anti-reflective lens types. We make it easy to practice daily eye care while working on a computer, and we help you look your best throughout the workday and into the weekend.

Visit our online shop to check out our full selection of Base Frames and Top Frames.