Seniors: How to Improve Night Vision While Driving

Life doesn’t stop when the sun goes down, but driving at night – especially with oncoming headlights and bright light – can cause vision problems for some seniors.

If you live with night blindness, also known as nyctalopia, or contend with vision problems at night or in dim light, there are steps you can take to improve your vision at night and begin experiencing life after dark in more ways.

Read how to improve night vision while driving, and learn more about night blindness and what you can do to improve or evade the condition.

What is Night Blindness?

Night blindness is the inability to see in dim light or at night.

For seniors living with night blindness, this doesn’t mean you can’t see anything at night. Instead, night blindness means your vision is weaker at night and doesn’t fully support you in various nighttime endeavors – especially driving at night.

While nyctalopia is not a disease, it is a symptom of another type of vision issue.

What Causes Night Blindness?

The following eye conditions can cause night blindness:

• Nearsightedness – the inability to clearly see objects far away
• Cataracts – the clouding of the eye’s lens
• Retinitis pigmentosa – the collection of dark pigment in the retina, leading to tunnel vision. Early diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa and genetic testing may allow some treatment plans (especially with vitamins) to be started early in life and prevent serious loss of vision
• Usher syndrome – a genetic condition that affects both hearing and vision
• Vitamin A deficiency – an important vitamin that is key in transforming nerve impulses into images in the retina

It’s important to note that older adults and seniors, and individuals with diabetes, have a greater risk of experiencing vision problems at night and developing night blindness.

Ways Seniors Can Improve Night Vision

Improving one’s health and nutrition – especially taking vitamins A and B – can help improve your night vision. Special night driving glasses with anti-glare coated lenses are one of the best ways to improve vision by a least 5% or more. Sometimes, a small amount of tint, especially yellow, in the Rx can deliver eye relief.

Here are more details on the top ways to improve night vision to help with night vision driving and other dim light activities:

Consult with Your Optometrist First

Because of the complexities and varied eye conditions that can cause night blindness or poor vision at night, it’s vital that your first step in improving your eye health and night vision problems is to see your trusted optometrist. Playing the guessing game as to what is causing your condition or how you can make it better doesn’t get to the absolute root of the problem.

More than likely, there is something else going on with your sight that needs addressed. In turn, your vision at night will likely improve in tandem.

Without knowing exactly what your eyes are contending with, it’s hard to talk specifics in this article. But we lay out different eyeglass options and strategies your optometrist may suggest or prescribe to help with night vision driving and your overall night vision and eye health.

1. Night Driving Glasses

Night driving glasses are specially recommended eyeglasses that fit your vision needs and may help you see better and reduce glare while driving in the dark. Effective night driving glasses include:

• Light sensitivity glasses for night driving.If you have light sensitive eyes, it can feel as if you’re blinded by oncoming traffic, and you may even struggle with light contrast after dark. These difficulties are very normal, as everyone’s pupils constrict when bright light enters the eye. Everyone’s eyes adapt at different speeds. Tinted glasses are never the solution at night. Light sensitivity glasses for night driving can help to reduce reflections from special lens enhancements that will better help with night vision driving to combat light sensitivity from headlights and street lights.
• Anti reflective glasses for night driving.To help your eyes focus properly on the road and other obstacles at night, anti reflective glasses for night driving can be prescribed. They’re special night driving glasses with an anti-reflective coating. When it comes to driving at night vision problems, these glasses help reduce glare, sharpen vision, and help many seniors see better overall on the road at night. Depending on the anti reflective lenses you’re prescribed, some are developed with wavefront diagnostic technology that can also reduce halos, star bursts, glare, and other visual distractions. Anti reflective glasses for night driving are usually based on your individual prescription to deliver the best possible vision for your eyes.

In addition to prescription night driving glasses, your eye doctor may recommend these additional ways to improve your night vision:

2. Choose the Right Pair of Sunglasses

How you take care of your eyes during the day will significantly help or hurt your eyes at night. Unfiltered sunlight exposure can cause your night vision to suffer. But you can’t just hide out inside all day; too little light during the day won’t help your eyes at night, either.

Finding a pair of effective sunglasses – ones that match your prescription, block UV rays, and help keep out light and rays that could enter from the side of your face – can help improve your night vision.

Be sure to read our article on How to Choose the Right Pair of Sunglasses.

3. Give Your Eyes Time to Adjust Naturally

If you know ahead of time you need to drive or do something outside at night, set 10-20 minutes aside and allow your eyesight to naturally adjust to darkness. As an acclaimed method by U.S. Military personnel, here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Find a dark room.
• Sit for approximately 10-20 minutes with your eyes open.
• Go directly outside when you’re done. (Do not head back toward a brightly-lit room.)
• If you don’t have a dark room (or 10-20 minutes), slip on a sleep mask and sit in a room for a few minutes as your eyes adjust.

4. Avoid Direct Eye Contact with Light Sources

Nightly, outdoor activities will always involve bright lights. But to promote optimal night vision, it’s important to not look straight at a light source. Strong lights will cause the size of your pupil to shrink. When this happens, it will take longer for your pupil to open up and let more light in.

When diving, headlights are constantly hitting you from the front and the back. While still ensuring utmost safety, try to adjust any mirror that is getting blasted with a rear car’s headlights. Additionally, when learning how to improve night vision while driving, focus your eyes more toward the white line of the road, as opposed to the middle of the road where more oncoming headlights are.

5. Eat Vitamin A-Rich Food

Vitamin A is an important component of rhodopsin, a light-absorbing protein in the retina. Rhodopsin helps you see more clearly in the dark. This is why night blindness is one of the first symptoms of a vitamin A deficiency. This deficiency, however, is uncommon in developed countries, but it may be worth it to talk with your doctor about ways to alter your diet to benefit your vision.

Before adjusting your diet in any way, be sure to consult with your doctor first. While ensuring you’re consuming adequate levels of vitamin A, there is a point where you can be getting too much.

Talk to Your Doctor About Cataract Surgery

Because cataracts are a main cause of night blindness in older adults, you may want to have a conversation with your optometrist about removing your cataracts through surgery.

During surgery, your cloudy lens(es) will be replaced with clear, artificial ones. If it’s discovered that your cataracts are the underlying cause of your night blindness, your night vision will significantly improve after surgery.

An Eye Exam Can Help You Enjoy the Night with Clear Vision

Don’t let your vision hold you back from doing anything you’re capable of or want to do at night. Clear night vision is possible, we just need to understand what’s causing this challenge in the first place.

Through a healthy eye exam, every aspect of your vision will be thoroughly assessed, and you will receive a prescription and/or insight to improve your night vision – which can eliminate any current driving at night vision problems.

Come see the eye experts at iCare Vision today.