By Staff
Friday, August 23, 2019 3:16 PM
It's easy to let our sleep schedules slip after a weekend. Whether it's staying up late to watch something like SNL or sleeping in for breakfast in bed, weekends and days off often present us with easy opportunities to mess up our sleep schedules. But is having a regimented sleep schedule that important, really? And what happens if we mess it up? And how long do we really need to sleep each night? The answers to these questions vary from person to person, but the
National Institute of Heath has some good guidelines worth following.
Head over to the NIH to see how much sleep you should be getting, and why getting that amount is so important for your overall health and wellness.
By Staff
Thursday, August 22, 2019 1:24 PM
When it comes to making the internet more accessible for everyone, we all still have a ways to go. Earlier this week, Google
announced a new step in their journey toward this total accessibility: making Google Docs' Live Edits compatible with screen readers and Braille displays. Head over to
Gizmodo to learn how to set up the new Google Docs feature, which will make Docs that much more accessible for visually impaired people.
By Staff
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 12:28 PM
Although it may seem like a no-brainer to those of us within the optical industry, many people all around the world don't realize just how important getting their routine eye exam is. Because an eye exam can give a window into your overall health, it's vital that we do our best to share as many stories as we can to show how an eye exam can improve, change, or even save a patient's life. Recently, Oprah's
O Magazine shared the story of Sharon Karriem, an unsuspecting woman who's life was literally saved by her annual eye exam. Head over to
Oprah Mag to learn Sharon's story as a reminder of just how important it is to visit an ECP every year.
By Staff
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 10:58 AM
There's no question that emojis are officially a part of both our culture and the way we communicate today. As emojis have increased in popularity, there have also been many calls for increased inclusivity, such as the addition of emojis with different skin colors, adding female emojis with different jobs, and, now, adding even more emojis wearing glasses. UK based Specsavers is leading a campaign to include four new glasses-wearing emojis, and
Clearly's James Chen has joined in the call. Head over to
Medium to read what Specsavers and Chen say is lacking when it comes to emoji representation, and why adding more emojis in glasses could be such an important move.
By Staff
Monday, August 19, 2019 9:30 AM
While babysitting, waiting tables, and other part-time jobs have long been the purview of teens looking to pocket some money while waiting to land a “real job,” the skills gained in such positions don’t always equip you for an entry-level gig in a specific profession. This is where internships come in. These temporary roles are offered by companies looking to round out their workforce with junior members who are as-yet-unproven professionals. The company gets the benefit of a cheap worker who is eager to learn, and the intern gets the chance to build their network and resume. The reality can be different. While internships are seen at once as a rite of passage, they do make an impact on the present and future of our labor force. And this is what
Fast Company aims to explore in their new series
The Intern Economy.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 2:45 PM
Insect eyes are pretty amazing, and some new research shows that we might have more in common with them than we thought. According to the
National Eye Institute and
Phys.org, fossilized flies from 54 million years ago had eyes that captured light in the same way as human eyes do today, and this new discovery has potential to tell us a lot about the evolution of sight. Head over to
Phys.org to learn more about this research, which was originally published in
Nature.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 1:19 PM
R+R. We talk about it a lot, but how much time do we really dedicate to rest and relaxation? For many people, the answer is the same: not nearly enough. Yesterday was
National Relaxation Day, a day dedicated both to relaxation and education about how and why recuperation is so vital for our mental and physical health. Our stress levels take a toll on everything our bodies do—including our physical health, which includes our eye health. Head over to the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to learn more about how relaxation can change your health, and to pick up some new tips, tricks, and relaxation techniques.
By Staff
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 10:42 AM
Blink twice, zoom in. Shengqiang Cai, a professor of engineering at the University of California, San Diego, and his team, have began filing patents for
a new contact lens that allows the wearer to change the focal length of the lens with a double blink. It's still early days for this new technology, which
The Smithsonian reported on earlier this week, but the potential of this research is an exciting development in the intersection between technology and eyecare. Head over to
The Smithsonian to hear more from Cai about how these contact lenses work, and where they could go in the future.
By Staff
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 4:25 PM
Stem cell
research has been a focus for doctors and health care researchers for more than 30 years now. While the research is generally complicated and sometimes slow-moving, there's one area of work where stem cells excel: eyecare. In fact, when it comes to eyecare, stem cell treatments have even helped some patients, like Anna Kuehl, who is profiled in a
WebMD article about the treatments for macular degeneration. Head over to
WebMD to learn more about stem cell research, how it's changing the world of eyecare, and what changes it might make to other areas of health care.
By Staff
Monday, August 12, 2019 1:32 PM
Rodney Evans is a
filmmaker who has been losing his eyesight due to retinitis pigmentosa. His newest film, featured in
The New York Times, is an essay documentary titled "Vision Portraits," which profiles various artists with vision impairment. Evans' film shows the many different ways visually impaired people create their art, as well as their approaches to life and vision. Head over to
The New York Times to read more about the poignant documentary.
By Staff
Friday, August 9, 2019 11:54 AM
Apple's
Face ID is a pretty amazing tool—so much so that it can actually differentiate between identical twins most of the time. But according to
Mashable, researchers from Tencent, a Chinese company, set out to foil Face ID. They managed to do it by donning a pair of glasses with tape over the lenses, which could fool what
Mashable calls the "liveness" detection on Face ID. But there's another big catch: the person has to be unconscious, too. Head over to
Mashable to learn more about how these researchers used glasses to fool Face ID.
By Staff
Thursday, August 8, 2019 11:08 AM
There's no question that cats are special animals. They're wonderful companions for humans, but they are also some of the most graceful, dangerous, and beautiful creatures in nature—all thanks, in part, to their unique way of seeing the world. So what better way to celebrate
International Cat Day, which was yesterday, August 8, than to learn all about cats' eyesight? Head over to
Live Science to learn how cats see the world, and why that makes them such special animals.
By Staff
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 12:47 PM
The landscape of cancer care is constantly changing, growing, and developing. For physicians at
Cleveland Clinic, cancer care for come people with breast cancer now includes a newly developed prototype, SmartGoggles, that could change the way they conduct biopsies. According to
Consult QD, these new SmartGoggles, which surgeons would wear while conducting the biopsy, feature real-time fluorescent imaging, and allow doctors to see the disease in 3D. Head over to
Consult QD to learn more about how these developing SmartGoggles, developed by Yang Liu, Ph.D, at the University of Akron, and Francis Papay, MD, chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, are changing the cancer care landscape, and how the use of eyewear and technology might impact cancer care in the future.
By Staff
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 1:20 PM
When it comes to
interior design, we think about a lot of things: color, layout, lighting, and fabrics. But how do we have to adapt our thinking about interior design when it comes to visual impairment? In partnership with Novartis, Nate Berkus, celebrity interior designer and host of "Nate & Jeremiah by Design" on TLC is participating in the
My Home in Sight program, which helps people with wet AMD make design changes that will help them preserve their independence. Head over to
Healthline to learn more about this design program, and how we can change the way we live to be inclusive of everyone by paying attention to things like lighting, color and contrast, organization, and special tools.
By Staff
Monday, August 5, 2019 11:38 AM
When it comes to building your business, establishing an
online presence is one of the most important steps you take. Still, getting settled online can be intimidating, overwhelming, and confusing for many business owners. According to
new research by BrightLocal and Search Engine Land, though, there's one thing most business owners can be almost positive will help their business online: high quality photos. In fact, ensuring that high-quality photos of your businesses are easily available online for potential customers is almost a sure-fire way to increase your website visions, direction requests, and calls. Head over to
Search Engine Land to see the research and learn why getting a photographer on the team could change the game.