Sunglasses are important year round, but especially so during summer months when we tend to spend more time outdoors. When you shop for sunglasses, one of the things that makes a big difference in price is whether or not the lens is polarized, which might lead you to believe that polarized is better for your eyes. That's not entirely true.

You need to make sure that any sunglasses you purchase block UVA and UVB rays. Polarization has nothing to do with UV -- it simply prevents glare. And, while glare can cause you to squint (which can lead to eye strain and wrinkles), the glare itself isn't doing damage to your eyes.

Surfaces that tend to cause glare are pavement and water, so polarized is often preferred for driving and boating. Personally, I like polarized lenses for running outdoors, but I know other people who are bothered by the polarization, so if you're spending big bucks on glasses for running outdoors, make sure you're familiar with the return/exchange policy.

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Wearing contacts used to be a really big deal -- remember the hard lenses that were supposed to last a year or more but would pop out at random and leave people searching the floor in the middle of a crowd or, worse yet, the bottom of a pool? Thankfully I never had to deal with hard contacts, but I have been wearing regular soft lenses since high school and after awhile it's hard not to feel like you know everything. But do you? Here's a list of 5 things every contact lens wearer should know:

• Wash your hands!
  
• Try not to wear your contacts during periods of seasonal allergies, or if you must then dispose of them more often.
• Keep eye drops handy to help prevent dry eyes and potential eye injury from dry lenses
• Don't keep/wear lenses for longer than they were intended
• Give your eyes a rest from contacts whenever you can, if even just for a few hours a day.

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When I read about Nike Maxsight contacts today I thought it was especially interesting since I had just read this article on sunglasses versus UV contacts a few days ago. UV contacts are made to filter UV rays, but Nike Maxsight lenses take it one step further and throw a sunglasses-like tint into the lenses so you get all the benefits of wearing polarized shades but without the inconvenience of glasses that can fall off or get in the way during sports or athletic activities.

Available in two colors (grey/green for golf, running, training and amber for sports like tennis, baseball, football, and rugby), Fitsugar has some good pictures of what they look like compared to regular contacts if you're curious. And Nike is offering a free trial so you can see how big of a difference they make before committing -- I for one can't wait to try them!

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