Do reading glasses weaken your eyes?

The short answer

Reading glasses do not weaken your eyes, and wearing them does not make you need them more. Eye doctors, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, list this among the common myths about glasses.

Why it feels that way

Two things happen at once. First, presbyopia progresses. The lens in the eye keeps stiffening from the early forties to the mid sixties, so you need a stronger pair every few years. That would happen whether you wore glasses or not.

Second, you get used to seeing clearly. Before your first pair you had slowly adapted to slightly blurred print. After a few weeks of sharp print, the blur without glasses is more noticeable, though your eyes are no different.

Does going without glasses exercise the eyes?

No. Presbyopia comes from the lens becoming stiff, not from weak muscles, so straining to read does not slow it. It only causes tired eyes and headaches.

Can the wrong strength do harm?

In adults, no lasting harm. Readers that are too strong or too weak can cause eye strain, headaches or a pulling feeling, which stop when you change to the right strength. The test helps you find it.

When a change does need attention

Needing a quarter diopter more every two or three years is normal. Needing much more within months, or a change in one eye only, is not. See an eye doctor.