I am not an optometrist, but it is not very convincing to me that
wearing lenses intended for distant vision is perfectly fine for
close-up work too. I like to think of it like supplemental oxygen. Just
because we need it for flying at high altitudes, doesn't mean we should
use it all the time for ordinary activities.

I can only speak from personal experience, and I have found that my
distant vision at night is significantly better since I started using
reading glasses over my contacts for closeup work. In addition, as I
mentioned earlier, my correction dropped by 0.5 in 6 months after
nearly 15 years of unchanged power. May be it is just coincidence.



Mxsmanic wrote:
Jose writes:

It's not clear to me that becoming nearsighted is related to "strain" on
the eyes. My understanding is that it is due to the eyeball being the
wrong shape, and that presbyopia (needing reading glasses as we age) is
due to the lens hardening (and becoming unable to change its focal length).

Yes. Hyperopia and myopia are usually associated with asymmetry in
the shape of the eyeball. Presbyopia is presumed to be due to
hardening of the lens, although there is still some debate about this.