AALEN/Germany, 29.10.2013.
Digital devices are dominating our everyday lives these days, but the human eye was not made for the digital world. Constantly looking at smartphones, tablets and laptops is pure and unadulterated stress for our eyes, particularly in view of the fact that we spend more than five hours a day on average looking at some sort of computer screen. Small screens showing a lot of information in small fonts demand the utmost from our eyes. A new category of lenses, developed by ZEISS, now takes this development into account:

ZEISS Digital Lenses have been specially designed for comfortable vision in the digital world. "These lenses offer a newly developed, special lens design that offers digital device users clear benefits for better vision and overall wellbeing," says Raymund Heinen, Head of the Vision Care business group.

Relaxed vision the whole day long
The new lenses are particularly suitable for 30-to-40-year-olds. Normally, people in this age group do not yet need to wear progressive lenses. Nevertheless, their vision starts to noticeably deteriorate as their eyes grow older, and adjusting to different distances simply takes more effort. ZEISS Digital Lenses support the work of the ciliary muscle which is responsible for near and distance vision and therefore enable relaxed, comfortable vision the whole day long.

The outstanding feature of ZEISS Digital Lenses is that the field for distance vision is particularly large and the transition to near vision is extremely small. Therefore, it is easier for the eye to switch between distance vision and looking at digital devices, hence guaranteeing relaxed, stress-free vision.

Small screen, great stress
Users look at their smartphones, tablets or laptops for an average of five hours a day. And the trend is accelerating. From 2013, there will be more mobile devices than people in the world.¹ However, the human eye is not designed for the digital world, and constantly looking at digital devices is pure and unadulterated stress for our eyes. Frequent use therefore leads to noticeable problems: 61 percent of users complain about fatigue, 45 percent about dry eyes, just under two-thirds about neck strain and 31 percent about headache.²

Heinen: "These new precision lenses make it possible to avoid most of the problems associated with the use of digital devices." Whether fatigue, dry eyes or neck strain: test wearers of ZEISS Digital Lenses confirmed the fast improvement of these or similar complaints.³ "A stress test among smartphone and tablet users showed that wearers of ZEISS Digital Lenses had four times fewer complaints than persons who did not wear glasses or who wore single vision lenses. Over 90 percent of the participants were very satisfied with the properties of the ZEISS Digital Lenses," says Raymund Heinen.

The problem: Our eyes do not only have to focus on a certain near range, but reading on a (small) screen and the fast switch to distance vision also cause additional difficulties. Normally, this type of visual defect does not occur until our mid-forties – a condition that the experts call presbyopia. The reading of small print and recognizing small objects close-up become increasingly difficult – symptoms that can now also be experienced in younger years through the growing use of digital devices because increasing performance is demanded of our eyes due to the constant switch in focus between the screen and the surrounding area.

Lenses for the whole day long
The new lenses can be worn the whole day long, not only when using digital devices. "The ZEISS Digital Lenses are spontaneously accepted by the eye. The familiarization period is very short. Therefore, the lenses are ideal for people who are already wearing single vision lenses or who need their first glasses," Heinen continues. "The switch from the far to the near range is no problem, even for 'untrained' eyes. There is considerably less stress on the muscles of the eye. Burning, dry or tired eyes are now a thing of the past. At long last, our eyes are able to keep pace with the rapid developments in digital technology."

ZEISS Digital Lenses will be gradually introduced internationally from October 2013 and will be available from all ZEISS partner opticians.

¹ARD/ZDF online study in 2013
²Online survey of around 800 participants from Germany and Austria conducted by IMW-KÖLN, on behalf of Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH
³Wearing trial with ZEISS Digital Lenses conducted by Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH, 2013