Have you ever watched a sporting event on television and been amused by how abstract and random some statistics seem? Well, one stat may actually have some
significance. A recent NY Times article found that major league baseball players with blue eyes have a lower batting average during the day than they do at night.
We’ve posted before about how blue eyes have less “sunlight filtering” ability than dark colored eyes (click here to see that post). And, the NY Times article cites this reduced filtering ability as the reason for this interesting statistic. Sports medicine professionals are now working closer with players to educate them on how this can significantly affect their ability to visually track the baseball and how finding the correct pair of sunglasses can improve their game on sunny days.
If the glare can affect these professional athletes, it can also affect the rest of us with light or blue-colored eyes during all of our outdoor activities—from sports to leisure to driving. Our expert staff at Clearview Eye Care can help you find the correct sunwear frame and lenses to make sure your eyes perform at their best in these daytime activities. Be sure to check out our previous posts on “UV Light and your Eyes,” and “Polarized Lenses.”
As always, we’d love to hear from you! Please shoot us your questions and comments over on Facebook.
Take Care,
Dr. Beach.
melanin determines what colors of light are absorbed and what is reflected. In essence, the higher the concentration of melanin in the iris, the darker the iris color. But how does this affect vision or eye health?
The same type of action may explain how light colored irises may be associated with higher risks for certain eye problems. Since there is less of a filtering effect in the light-colored iris, more harmful UV light will pass through the iris and this may increase risks for cataracts and macular degeneration. Some studies have shown a higher incidence of these ocular conditions in patients with lighter-colored irises. Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone with blue-colored eyes will get macular degeneration and early-onset cataracts, but it is something to consider in terms of increased risk factors. Yet, wearing sunglasses with UV-blocking lenses can reduce these risk factors and help all eyes stay healthy over the long haul.
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