As we’ve covered in many blogs this year, vision is a multifaceted sense that relies on several different functions to work well. Sometimes, we don’t realize when our eyes aren’t functioning at their best because we think it’s normal. For example, almost everyone can recall a time they got little bright spots in their eyes after looking at a bright light. However, few know what it’s called or that the time it takes for those spots to go away is an indication of eye health.

What Is Glare Recovery?

This temporary blind-spot phenomenon can be linked to the visual function called glare recovery. Glare recovery is how your eyes react after being exposed to an intense quantity of light. Quick blasts of bright light bleach the photoreceptors, the sensitive cells responsible for vision, and it takes time for your eyes to “see normally” again. That duration is categorized as glare recovery. Glare recovery is commonly endured after a camera flash.

Why Does Glare Recovery Matter?

Glare recovery is another incredibly important visual function for navigating everyday life. Safety is often considered the most critical reason for having healthy glare recovery. Whether it’s driving at night and looking into oncoming headlights or being able to see clearly through the glare of the snow on a sunny day, you need your vision to recover quickly to keep you and your family safe.

If we take the “texting and driving” message: it only takes a few seconds of distraction to cause a lifetime of damage. Now, consider if that distraction is a temporary loss of vision from a bright light. Then, instead of simply putting your phone on Do Not Disturb, you’re waiting for your vision to return to normal – hoping everything goes according to plan.

Can I Improve Glare Recovery?

Glare recovery is the amount of time it takes your eyes to return to normal after temporarily losing vision due to bright light exposure. Whatever the light source, you need your eyes to return to normal vision quickly. What many don’t know is that time varies greatly based on the health of your eyes.

Though many people believe that a longer-than-normal glare recovery time (1-7 second) is just something they have to deal with, studies show that getting at least 8+ mg of dietary zeaxanthin a day can actually decrease your glare recovery time. This means that your eyes can return to normal quicker, and those bright lights cause less of a distraction.

Supplementation

To get the levels of zeaxanthin necessary to address glare recovery, you’d need to eat at least 20 ears of corn a day! That’s why many eye care professionals recommend supplementation to improve and maintain glare recovery. EyePromise® is the only eye vitamin that delivers this amount of dietary zeaxanthin in every dose.

While bright, blinding lights aren’t going anywhere, your glare recovery can be improved for a better, safer life. EyePromise eye vitamins can help you start enhancing your glare recovery now! Take our quiz to determine which eye vitamin is right for you!