Progressive lenses, sometimes referred to as "no-line bifocals," not only provide visual correction for distances that traditional bifocals can't, but they also hide the fact that you even need reading glasses. No one else has to know whether you're sporting a pair of glasses just for fashion or because your arms have "grown too short" to allow you to see up close.

Progressive lenses are the closest to how natural vision is (before the onset of presbyopia) that you can get in a pair of eyeglasses. They are more than just a defined near and distance correction in one lens. Rather, progressives provide a smooth transition from distance through intermediate to near, with all the in-between corrections included as well. This constant graduation of the prescription means that you can look up to see in the distance, look ahead to view things such as the computer in the intermediate zone, and drop your gaze downward to read and do fine work comfortably close up.

You get the best vision through the lens when looking directly at the object of focus. There is a "corridor" of optimum vision that runs vertically down each lens. Your eye care practitioner will measure both eyes in relation to the position of the frame in order to place the corridor in just the right location for you. So you'll get the best vision when you point your nose directly at whatever you want to see.