The fall months bring about many environmental changes and meaningful traditions. Whether it’s a fun night of trick-or-treating on Halloween, the end of daylight saving time, or a drive home from work as it gets dark outside, it’s important to understand how darkness impacts your eyes and vision so that you can stay safe this fall!

How Darkness Impacts Your Eyes

Let’s explore how your eyes adapt to the darkness.

Pupil dilation: As it gets darker outside, your iris opens, helping your pupils widen to let in and gather ambient light.

Cone-to-rod switching: While your eyes rely on cone cells to be able to see in daylight, as soon as it begins to get dark, your eyes switch to using your rods for vision. Rods don’t see color, which is why you see things at night in shades of gray.

Chemical/dark adaptation: Your eyes have special proteins that are light-sensitive. As your eyes adjust to darkness, these proteins begin to regenerate, absorbing light in dim environments to help you see. Your cones can adjust in 5-10 minutes, while your rods take 35-40 minutes.

What Is Night Blindness?

If your vision is not properly adjusting to darkness, you may have something called night blindness. This is not an eye condition in itself; instead, it’s a symptom of a preexisting condition, such as myopia, astigmatism, diabetes, cataracts, or glaucoma.

Common symptoms of night blindness include difficulty driving in darkness or dimly lit environments (including seeing signs or pedestrians), sensitivity to light from LEDs or headlights, struggling to get your eyes to adjust when moving from brightly to dimly lit spaces, or generally struggling to navigate environments without large amounts of light.

If you think you might be suffering from night blindness, schedule your next appointment with BVNJ right away. Our doctors will examine your eyes using pupil dilation or visual clarity tests. Potential treatments for night blindness will depend on the root cause, and could include an updated prescription, glasses used specifically for night driving, specialized contact lenses, or cataract surgery. If you do have night blindness, we will discuss treatment options with you to ensure that you are well taken care of.

Tips for Protecting Your Eyes at Night

There are several simple ways that you can protect your nighttime eye health, especially as it gets darker outside earlier.

Digital eye strain: Limit your screen time at night. We recommend turning off devices at least 1-2 hours before you go to sleep. This will limit your exposure to harmful blue light at night and will help you sleep better. If you need to use your phone at night, turn on dark mode.

Bedroom environment: You can protect your eyes while you sleep by avoiding sleeping face-down or with your eyes pressed into the pillow. This can put pressure on your eyes and cause a condition called Floppy Eyelid Syndrome, which occurs when your eyelids lose elasticity during sleep. If your bedroom is dry, use a humidifier at night, which can help prevent dry eye.

Remove contacts: Never sleep with your contacts in unless they are lenses that are meant for nighttime wear. Before you go to bed, don’t forget to remove them so that the lenses won’t block oxygen from reaching your corneas.

Driving at night: Stick to well-lit roads when possible, and use your high beams when it’s safe to do so. This helps keep strain off your eyes and gets you to your destination safely.

Protect Your Vision with BVNJ

Staying aware of nighttime impacts on your eyes and vision health and knowing how to mitigate negative impacts on your eyes will keep them safe and healthy as the fall months continue. If you are interested in learning more about how to keep your eyes healthy and safe at night, want to understand what night vision means for your eyes, or think you may have night blindness symptoms, call our office at (908) 276-3030 to make an appointment.