What is important in sports glasses?

Linda Eigner
07.06.2022

No matter which outdoor sport you like to do - sports glasses are a must-have and an important part of the equipment. However, sports glasses are not always sports glasses and should be carefully selected according to your requirements. You can read about the different types of sports glasses lenses in our last blog. In this article you will find out why sports glasses are generally so important and what UV protection actually means.

Why should you wear sports glasses?



Sports glasses have one important function above all: protecting the eyes. Glasses protect us from dangerous UV rays on the one hand and from contaminants such as sand, dust, pollen or mosquitoes on the other. In addition, with the right sports glasses you avoid drying out or tearing of the eyes during sports units. In principle, glasses should be as large as possible so that on the one hand the eyes are protected as well as possible from the light and on the other hand they offer little surface area for UV rays to attack.

Two bikers talking with each other.

Here's what you should know about UV rays

Depending on the time of day you will find different lighting and weather conditions. This means that depending on the time, the sports glasses may have to fulfill different functions. At least the light conditions are different in the morning than in the late afternoon. In addition, the UV rays have different intensities. Basically, UV rays are divided into UVA, UVB and UVC rays. What is the difference between the different types of UV rays and why is the light so harmful to us? Unlike visible light, UV rays (ultraviolet light) are not visible to humans. Both types of light are electromagnetic vibrations and are emitted to us in different wavelengths. Among the emitted light rays fall the infrared light and the UV light. Depending on the wavelength, the rays are more dangerous than others and can damage our eyes or skin. UVC rays are the shortest rays with a wavelength of 280 to 100 nanometers. They are 100% filtered by the ozone layer in the atmosphere. The following graphic is used to better understand the different wavelengths.

In the graph, the wavelengths and

What are the differences between the UV rays?



UVA rays

  • Wavelength from 320 to 400 nanometers
  • The longest wavelength range of UV rays.
  • Almost completely penetrates the atmosphere
  • Almost all UVA rays reach us on the earth's surface.
  • Caution : UVA rays can also penetrate window glass. Therefore, be careful when driving and use a sun visor if necessary)
  • Responsible for the short-term tan of our skin.
  • UVA rays can penetrate deeper into the skin than UVB rays.
  • Caution: UVA rays can damage the eye lens and retina.

UVB rays

  • Wavelength from 280 to 320 nanometers
  • Almost 90% of UVB rays are filtered out by the ozone layer in the atmosphere. This means that only 10% arrives on earth with us.
  • Main cause of sunburn.
  • Caution : May cause eye, conjunctivitis or corneal inflammation.
  • Fun Fact: Did you know that the name SPF on a sunscreen mainly refers to protection against UVB rays and therefore protection against sunburn?
Two people are biking up a road.
Image taken by Florian Dorn.

What are other important properties of sports glasses?

However, modern sports glasses now have more and more functions and properties. You can read here in our blog what else you should pay attention to when buying sports glasses .

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