Whether you’re a professional swimmer or simply doing a few lengths at the local pool every so often, it’s a good idea to wear proper swimming goggles to protect your eyes.

But what are swimming goggles? If you’re not familiar with them, swimming goggles are specifically designed glasses to help you see underwater. The watertight design stops water getting in by creating an air pocket around your eye.

There are many reasons as to why it’s beneficial to wear swimming goggles when you swim

Clear vision

As a result of that watertight design, you can open your eyes with confidence and see the underwater world around you. This is also beneficial if you tend to swim in your local pool that occasionally gets crowded. It’s good to be able to see where someone else’s legs are so that you don’t swim into them – or obstruct your practise time.

Protection for your eyes

Red and itchy eyes are not a good look and if you enter the water without goggles on, you run the risk of looking like you’ve had one too many late nights. The water in swimming pools is filled with chlorine which causes the irritation. Chlorine is important to keep the pool clean and sanitary, but it’s not good for our eyes. Using goggles is the best way to protect your eyes from all the chemicals in the swimming pool.

Some models of goggles have UV protection that keeps the eyes safe from the harmful sun rays. This is particularly useful if you plan on doing a lot of outdoor swimming. Sunburned eyes can cause long-term damage to your corneas, though it can be avoided by wearing the correct protective goggles.

If you’re swimming in a lake or the sea then there’s even more of a reason to wear goggles. Goggles aid in keeping salt water out of your eyes. And outdoor water can carry bacteria, pond scum and algae. If any of this gets in to your eyes, it can be harmful. It’s also responsible for prolonged blurry vision after this type of swimming.

Get more out of your swim

Wearing goggles makes it a lot more comfortable to open your eyes while swimming underwater. If you feel comfortable, you’ll also feel safer and hopefully more motivated to stay in the water longer. This ensures that you get the most out of your swim. The enhanced visibility provided by the goggles makes it much easier to move your body effectively underwater.

Continue wearing contact lenses

Wearing swimming goggles means that you can continue to wear your contact lenses instead of having to pop them out. There’s also a good selection of prescription goggles available now. Goggle lenses act the same as your glasses lenses and enable you to have great vision underwater.

A wide variety of options

As well as a multitude of different colour options, you can also opt for a mirrored lens or a darker lens if you want to block out any distractions and really focus on swimming. With a wide variety of styles and shapes out there, you can pick the design you want.