As opthalmologists, we are often contacted by people – both online and in real life – who wonder whether they should run with or without glasses. They worry about whether their glasses will bounce around too much, and whether their eyes will get disoriented by having their peripheral vision move so quickly and unclearly on the sides of the glasses, while they can see perfect well straight ahead.
Glasses might bring a higher risk of falling
The first thing we want to point our regarding running with glasses, is that it might make it more likely that you fall. This is something we were told by Stian Nyhus, CEO and physiotherapist at Salis Fysioklinikk in Kristiansand, Norway. When a runner throttles along at high speed, and suddenly his glasses are about to fall off, then he naturally wants to make them sit well with his hands for a split second. This split second is sometimes all it takes to make the runner fall.
Falling can lead to injuries
Furthermore, these falls sometimes lead to injuries. Stian says that running with glasses has caused injuries for many of his clients, especially when the glasses don’t sit well. On his clinic’s website, Fysioterapi Kristiansand, the official mission statement is having a “holistic approach to the client’s situation,” and discouraging people from running with glasses is one of the main pieces of advice Stian gives to runners with poor eyesight. Lenses are a much better and safer choice.
Don’t run with glasses; run with lenses
Choosing to go for lenses over glasses when running brings the following benefits:
- They sit naturally, and often you won’t even feel that they’re there
- It takes a lot more to make them fall off
- Since they don’t fall out, lenses can help save you money, since you aren’t in risk of dropping and breaking your glasses while running
- Lenses don’t collect dew, like your glasses can do when your breath hits the glass or your body temperature emits heat while the weather is cold