When you were a child, did you mother admonish you not to read in the dark? Did she tell you to turn a lamp on so you wouldn’t ruin your eyes? You probably didn’t think much of it at the time. That’s because your young eyes didn’t struggle to see even in dim light. Now that you’re getting older, though, Mom’s words might be echoing in your mind. That’s because our eyes start to worsen as we age and we begin to need better light to read by. Don’t worry; this isn’t really because of the squinting that you did as a kid. And it’s a problem that you can easily deal with by selecting the right lighting for reading.

So what happens to your eyes as you age? Quite a few things happen actually. Some of the changes that your eyes go through as you get older include:

* The cornea becomes increasingly opaque. * The lens of your eye starts to absorb more light than before. * The lens of your eye begins to yellow and specifically absorbs more blue wavelength light than before. * The diameter of your pupil decreases. * Your retinal illuminance levels decrease. * Fat deposits build up in both the cornea and the lens of the eye. This leads to scattered light in the eyes. Scattered light blurs images. * Your ciliary muscles weaken and your lens hardens. This combination makes it more difficult to focus in changing light.

What this all boils down to is that aging causes us difficulty with seeing in different types of light. The solution to this problem is to choose the right type of lighting, lighting that is designed specifically to meet the needs of your aging eyes. Holtkotter designs reading lamps with this problem in mind. Some of the features of Holtkotter lighting that help with this issue include:

* Adjustable dimming controls to allow for gradually changing light levels. * Adjustable physical reflector to aid in the gradual change of light levels. * Diffusers and reflectors that help to focus the light properly which reduces the problems related to the scattering of light that happens in the eye as you age. * Proper high-wattage bulbs to offset the decrease in retinal illuminance that happens as we age.

Nobody enjoys the fact that they are getting older and their bodies are showing off their age. However, it’s a fact of life. Instead of straining your eyes and living in discomfort, get the right lighting to adjust for the changes that your eyes go through as you get older. The stylish options provided by Holtkotter are a great place to start.