Cocoons: In the zone with the worlds best fit-over sunglass.

Did you know that in a 16 hour day you’ll blink your eyes about 17,000 times? Over the course of theaverage lifetime, you’ll blink about 496 million times. That’s quite a number but it absolutely pales incomparison to the number of times your pupils will dilate and contract to adjust to fluctuating light conditions.

The radial and the circular muscle of your iris control eye dilation. The radial muscle responds to dim lightand will cause your pupil to become larger. The circular muscle reacts to bright light and causes the pupil togrow smaller. These muscles respond to the signals sent by your brain. They move to change the dilation ofthe eye. And they do this continuously. Incessantly. They never stop working unless your eyes are closedand at rest, such as when you’re sleeping.

There are various stimuli that can cause your pupils to enlarge or contract. Emotions such as fear or anger.Reactions such as being surprised. Drugs and even your overall health can trigger the brain to adjust thesize of your pupils. But the overwhelming impetus causing your pupils to adjust is fluctuating lightconditions. The brighter the light, the more your pupils will condense. The lesser the light, the wider they’llopen in an effort to boost the levels of incoming light. If there’s not enough light, you can’t see. Think aboutthe last time the lights went out. You didn’t start squinting as you fumbled around looking for a flashlight.Your pupils didn’t contract. Your eyes were as wide open as possible, straining to absorb any available lightin an effort to help you see. It’s a reflex.

Over the course of a day, an hour or even a single minute, your eyes are adjusting to fluctuating light.Inconsistent amounts of light. Constantly changing intensity and hues of light. Light coming from differentdirections and from multiple sources. Your eyes deal with it the best they can.

Light in itself is very fast. You’ve probably heard of the “speed of light”. The speed of light is so fast that in asingle second it can travel around the world 7 times. That sort of velocity is difficult to grasp. Luckily for us,our brains makes billions of assessments and sends out billions of instructions every second. We don’t evenrealize it’s sending messages to our iris. But it is. Nonstop. And it sends them pretty fast as well, butnowhere near the speed that light travels. For example, it takes about 8 1/2 minutes for light emitted by thesun to arrive on earth. If there was a chain of neurotransmitters stretching from here to the sun, it would takeabout 513 years for a message sent by the brain to travel the same distance. It’s hard to keep up with thespeed of light. That’s why your eyes are working so hard. As soon as the pupil has been told by the brain toadjust to a certain dilation, a new message has already arrived telling it to readjust. Nonstop.

Needless to say, your eyes are working pretty hard. If you overwork your eyes, such as putting in a longerthan normal day at work, the radial and circular muscles can become tired. Much like other muscles in yourbody, fatigue will set in at some point if they’re not rested. And if you put your eyes in situations where theirregularity, stability and intensity of incoming light is extreme, they’ll tire even faster.

Cocoons, In the Zone. (cont.)

And that’s why people wear sunglasses. A tinted sunglass reduces the amount of light transmitted to theeyes. It softens it so to speak. If the sunglasses are polarized, they’ll also straighten out all the light comingfrom different directions at varying intensities and allow it to travel to your eyes in a uniformed manner.That’s why polarized lenses are so popular. Glare is virtually eliminated. But Cocoons fit-over sunglasses dosomething extra. Something almost magical. We call it the ‘zone’.

If you wear a fit-over sunglass, you’re doing so because you wear prescription glasses. A fit-over sunglasscan be popped on over your eyeglasses and you’re getting the same benefits as someone who wearsconventional sunglasses. But not all fit-over sunglasses are alike. The various brands may look similar, butthey’re not.

Like most fit-over sunglasses, the Cocoons chassis, also known as the frame, blocks light from enteringfrom above and from the peripheral. Any light that does reach the eye is filtered by the front or side lenses.Harmful UV rays and annoying glare are eliminated as the light travels through the lens material. Most fit-over sunglasses do the same thing. But Cocoons do something more.

Up to 70% of light that reaches your eyes can be reflected from below the eye line. Light can bounce up offa sidewalk, the water and even sand. If not prevented the redirected light can and will gain access to yourfield of vision by entering from below. If it’s able to penetrate, the untreated light instantly creates afluctuating light condition. The light being reflected up and behind your fit-over glass is not regulated. It willvary in intensity and direction. In a single microsecond light can bounce in from off the pavement, with somemore being reflected up from the hood of a car and another beam darting in from a piece of glass. Ithappens instantly. It saturates the field of vision at a phenomenal pace. It all transpires at the speed of light.

If unprocessed light reaches from underneath your fit-overs, it mixes with the virtuous light that was filteredthrough the fit-over sunglass lenses. It creates pandemonium. What was supposed to be a controlledenvironment for your eyes is disrupted. Whatever positive effect the fit-overs had accomplished isinstantaneously diluted. It’s still a better situation than not wearing a pair of fit-overs but things aren’t asgood as they could be. The radial and circular muscles are still going to have to make adjustments.Continuously. Incessantly.

If you turn a pair of Cocoons upside down, you’ll notice that there are two ‘returns’ underneath each frontlens. This is called the undercarriage. It’s a continuation of the framework that seals the bottom side. Theframework extends backwards, towards the face, completely encapsulating the prescription glasses. Yourprescription eyewear is fully encased within the chassis of the fit-over. In a manner of speaking, youreyeglasses are in a ‘cocoon’.

Cocoons, In the Zone. (cont.)

With little or no unregulated light streaming in from below your fit-over frame, a more peaceful environmentis created. The Cocoons primary and peripheral lenses are precisely tuned to deliver an exacting amount oflight at a consistent luminescent transmission ratio. The tint of the peripheral lenses matches the primarylenses precisely. Instead of a constant barrage of fluctuating light, your eyes are bathed in a calm sea ofoptical tranquility. Your pupils no longer have to react as often which allows the radial and circular musclesto get a breather.

This is when you’ll start to feel more relaxed. It takes about ten minutes before most people sense it.Eyestrain and fatigue is virtually eliminated. You can relax and focus on the task at hand with less effortbecause the radial and circular muscles aren’t having to work as hard. If you get headaches or often findyourself rubbing your eyes when they’re openly exposed to varying light conditions, you’re in for a treat.These adverse reactions are reduced significantly or often completely eliminated.

Some people are less sensitive and don’t recognize the relaxed state. So another way to notice thedifference of being in the zone is by removing your fit-over sunglasses after wearing them for severalminutes. Even behind a polarized windshield, once removed, the iris immediately goes back to work. Whatwas once a peaceful environment becomes chaotic. The radial and circular muscles spring back into actionwith such a jolt that it’s a little easier to detect. Your brain, in assessing the situation, will ordinarily tell you, ifnot shriek at you to put your Cocoons back on!

A few years ago we got a call from a man whose wife wore Cocoons for ages. She loved them. They haddecided to take a second honeymoon in Palm Springs. He was calling from their hotel. He explained that hiswife wouldn’t leave the room. She had left her fit-over sunglasses at home. She was a mess. He said shewas bordering on hysterical. We were asked to send her a new pair by same day courier. With the couriercharge included, those Cocoons ended up costing him somewhere in the region of $250 ! The zone is veryreal, and apparently quite addictive.

Cocoons are patented. We think the design is as close to perfect as we can make it. I’m sure we’ll find waysto improve them in the future, but for now we’re confident in saying that they’re the best fit-over sunglasseson the market. They’re available in a variety of lens tints including contrast enhancing low vision filters. Theframes are made in 7 different sizes and styles that will fully encase 99% of eyeglasses.

Visit your local eyecare professional. Ask to try Cocoons. If they have a different brand of fit-over, turn itupside down and look for the undercarriage. If you’d like to know where your closest authorized Cocoonsdealer is, use our dealer locator on the Cocoons website or give us a call. We’re only too happy to help.

www.cocoonseyewear.com