Feel like your eyes go a bit blurry each time you try to read? This common condition, also known as presbyopia, can easily be rectified with glasses or contacts. But ignoring signs of vision impairment could lead to greater damage to your eyes. If you experience any of the following issues while reading, it’s time to make an appointment with your eye doctor to determine if you need reading glasses.

You feel sleepy each time you read

When you stare at a screen or a book to read, focusing your eyes on all those details can take a lot of work for the muscles involved. If you begin to notice that you feel drowsy and sleepy often when you’re trying to read, this could mean that your eyes are trying to work extra hard at focusing. Reading glasses can help minimize the strain and that overly tired feeling.

Your arm does all the work

The way in which you position your book can actually tell a lot about the condition of your eyes. For those who are near-sighted or far-sighted, they commonly hold a book either too close or at arm’s length from their face, making their arm do all of the work. Try to monitor how you position your book. The general rule of thumb is if the words appear blurry at 14 inches from you, glasses are most likely necessary.

You experience headaches when reading

Of course, headaches are also one of the most tell-tale signs that point to a vision problem. Experiencing headaches every time you read is a common side effect of causing too much strain for your eyes to handle. Glasses can easily rectify this so you can enjoy your book headache-free.

You require bright light when reading

Having adequate light to view your book is important. But when you need to use your ceiling light in addition to your tabletop lamp – that could indicate a problem.

You are over 40 years of age

Unfortunately, when it comes to your eyes, age does matter. Those who are over 40 years of age tend to begin to experience at least a few of these issues with their sight. Thankfully, with a pair of glasses or contacts, you don’t need to let that impact you or your reading.

If you feel as those your eye might be working harder to focus on the words in your book, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor. Often, the simple addition of glasses is all that’s required. But if you ignore signs such as these, it could cause your vision to deteriorate much more rapidly over time.