Are lighter eyes really more sensitive to the light?

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Growing up with blue eyes I always felt as if every time I walked outside into the sun I would have to put on my sunglasses.I always found myself squinting or having to put my hands over my eyes if I didn’t have sunglasses that day. I heard lots of people tell me constantly that it was because I have blue eyes and since they’re a lighter color they are more sensitive to light as oppose to someone that has brown eyes. After hearing those things, they kind of just stuck in my head and now I just believe it. I never felt the need to research this theory until this blog assignment came up.

The answer to my question is, apparently, yes. Lighter colored eyes are indeed more sensitive to bright lights. Dr. Horne, an ophthalmologist explains why photophobia is and how it affects these specific eye colors. Photophobia is basically light sensitivity in the eyes and it affects this with lighter colored eyes because the amount of pigmentation is a lot less than those people with darker colored eyes, therefore it is harder to block out the stress harsh lights put on the eye. The melanin around caucasian babies is usually nonexistent which is why they are almost always born with lighter colored eyes. Since there is no melanin, there is no protection from the sun whatsoever. It is recommended to those with lighter eyes to stay out of the sun for long periods of time and to try and wear protective eyewear because the constant bright lights and squinting can cause damage to eyesight and major headaches (from personal experience).

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If you have light eyes, just remember that every time you walk out you are putting yourself at more of a risk to damage your eyesight if you do not wear the protective eyewear or stay out in the sunlight too long. Buy some shades!!!!

Reference Sites:

https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/myth-or-fact-people-light-eyes-are-more-sensitive-sunlight

https://essilorusa.com/content/essilor-usa/en/newsroom/news/sensitive_to_light.html

2 thoughts on “Are lighter eyes really more sensitive to the light?

  1. Imaani Allen

    I didn’t know that people with light eyes were very sensitive to sunlight. My cousin has very light green eyes and always had to wear sun glasses because she said the sun was hurting her eyes. Now I know what she meant by that.

  2. Claudia Lynn Hatch

    I think this is an interesting topic, but you didn’t use live links, or use strong sources to back up your claim. I have blue eyes so I can totally relate to this. Every morning when I walk outside it’s like I have been hibernating for years. However, I wish you would’ve used more evidence to back up this topic. I want to know for sure if I really need to be wearing sunglasses more often or if I just need to give my eyes more time to adjust. I wonder if people with lighter eyes need more time to get adjusted to the sun or any bright lights in general? This article tells you about how vision adjusts to light. It isn’t a direct answer, but it does give some solid background.

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