Most people first notice they are holding their phone further away somewhere in their early forties. +1.00 is the usual starting strength: enough to take the strain off menus, labels and phone text without making the laptop screen blur.
The number is the lens power in dioptres. +1.00 dioptres brings text into sharpest focus at about 100cm for an eye with no focusing range left; if your eyes still have some focusing ability, you will see clearly over a wider band, including a little further away.
If you still push your phone away with +1.00, step up to +1.25. If you have to bring things closer than feels natural, or you get a headache after half an hour, step down to a weaker pair.
The same strength is available as photochromic readers that darken outdoors, and as reading sunglasses. For screen work, see the computer glasses guide.
When to see an optician: if your two eyes seem different, if you have headaches or double vision, or if it has been more than two years since your last eye test.
Typical age and the distance text is sharpest (for eyes with no focusing range left).
| Strength | Typical age | Sharp at |
|---|---|---|
| +1.00 | early to mid 40s | ~100cm |
| +1.25 | mid 40s | ~80cm |
| +1.50 | mid to late 40s | ~67cm |
| +1.75 | late 40s to around 50 | ~57cm |
| +2.00 | around 50 to mid 50s | ~50cm |
| +2.25 | mid 50s | ~44cm |
| +2.50 | mid to late 50s | ~40cm |
| +2.75 | late 50s to 60s | ~36cm |
| +3.00 | 60s and over | ~33cm |
| +3.50 | 60s and over, close work | ~29cm |
Typically people in their early to mid 40s, reading at a normal distance. Most people first notice they are holding their phone further away somewhere in their early forties.
If you have to hold text very close to see it, try a lower strength.
Only if your screen is close. For a desktop monitor at 50 to 70cm, most people who read with +1.00 are more comfortable with a computer pair about +0.50 to +0.75 weaker.
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