With summer road trips in full season, more drivers are hitting the highway after dark. Night driving is three times deadlier than daytime driving, with federal crash data showing California’s I-5 having 71 nighttime fatalities in a single year. But experts at Overnight Glasses, an online glasses company, say the real danger isn’t just dim roads – it could be your own eyes.
“People blame glare or dim lights, but usually it’s your own habits that are to blame,” the experts explain. “Night-ready vision is built at the breakfast table and in the hours before you turn the key, not the moment you are on the road.”
Here’s what you can do to see clearly after the dark:
1. Adjust Your Car’s Interior Lighting for Nighttime
Your car dashboard could still be messing with your night vision, even if you had a full night of sleep. Bright dashboards, flashy infotainment screens, and LED lights can cause eye strain, making it harder to see clearly at night while driving.
“Your eyes can’t lock into two light settings at once,” says an expert at Overnight Glasses. “If your cabin is brightly lit, your vision stays stuck in ‘daylight mode’ and struggles to adjust to the darkness outside. That mismatch makes road signs harder to read, increases glare from oncoming cars, and can slow your reaction time without you even noticing.”
How to stay sharp: Dim your dashboard and infotainment screens. If possible, switch displays to a darker theme or ‘night mode’ while driving.
2. Eat for Better Night Vision
Your eyes rely on key nutrients, such as vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin, to perform their best. Vitamin A creates the pigment needed for night vision, while lutein and zeaxanthin help with glare and contrast. Without these, your eyes will have a harder time to focus on headlights or road signs at night.
“These nutrients are like internal glasses for your eyes,” says an Overnight Glasses expert. “One study found that these nutrients can improve glare recovery by 26%, helping your eyes bounce back faster from bright headlights or sudden flashes of light.”
How to stay sharp: Add more leafy greens, egg yolks, carrots, and fatty fish to your diet. Just one intake of any of these nutrients will help your eyes stay sharp, even after sunset.
3. Screens Can Worsen Your Night Vision
Staring at your phone late at night isn’t just ruining your sleep. It’s also messing with your eyes. The blue light from screens decreases melatonin, the hormone that helps your eyes adjust to darkness. Without enough melatonin, your eyes take longer to switch into “night mode,” making glare and contrast even worse. In fact, just a quick glance at a bright white screen can reduce dark adaptation by 80%, with effects lasting for up to 20 minutes.
“If you go straight from TikTok to the driver’s seat, your eyes might still be stuck in daylight mode,” says an expert at Overnight Glasses. “It’s like trying to drive through fog while wearing sunglasses.”
How to stay sharp: Avoid screens at least 30-60 minutes before nighttime driving. If that’s not realistic, use night mode or blue light filters, and turn down brightness in low-light conditions.
4. Check What Meds You’re Taking Before You Drive
Some everyday meds, like allergy pills, sleep aids, muscle relaxants, and even cold medicine, can secretly mess with your night vision. They dry out your eyes and slow your pupils’ ability to adjust to changing light, making it tougher to focus at night.
“Most people don’t realize how common meds can dull your visual reflexes,” says an expert at Overnight Glasses. “You might feel fine, but your eyes are slower, especially when every second matters on a night road.”
How to stay sharp: If you’re driving after dark, check with your pharmacist to see if your meds can affect your vision. You can also time your doses so any side effects wear off before you hit the road.
Final Words
Your eyes weren’t built for constant screen time, bright dashboards, or 12-hour days. Yet, night driving demands sharp focus, where your daily habits matter more than most people realize.
“Most drivers think night vision fades with age or bad luck,” says an expert at Overnight Glasses. “But often, it’s small things, such as what you eat, how you sleep, the meds you take, or how bright your car interior is. Change those, and the road can look a whole lot clearer after dark.”
Because safer night driving doesn’t start on the road, it starts hours before you turn the key.