In a recent P1 tactical tip, Lou Ann Hamblin shared things to keep in mind relative to your squad’s interior lighting. As an addendum to that tip, here are 10 things to keep in mind about low light situation and your vision.
1.) If you think low-light training is just preparing you for functioning during the hours of darkness, think again. Remember that during the day you’ll be thrust into a low light situation if you need to enter a dark, windowless basement, a poorly lit building or any other setting that doesn’t offer much light.
2.) If you’re forced to deal with a low light situation and your eyes have adjusted to the darkened surroundings, try to avoid re-exposure to bright light whenever possible to avoid sending yourself back to visual ground zero where you’ll need to allow your eyes time to re-acclimate.
3.) It’s worth spending the money for a high quality pair of sunglasses that will effectively filter bright light and protect your eyes.
4.) If you wear prescription glasses, have your lens treated with anti-reflective coating. This which will help increase the amount of light that reaches your eyes in low light situations and will also prevent glare which can give away your position.
5.) Keep your windshield, glasses and contact lens clean. Fingerprints, road grime and other smudges can disperse incoming light, causing glare that can destroy your low light adaptation.
6.) When driving at night, keep your vehicle’s instrument panel at the lowest light setting that still allows you to read it.
7.) Consider the visual benefits of Vitamin A and check with your physician, local pharmacy or a health food store for recommended amounts.
8.) When going from a bright light situation, like the outside on a sunny day, to a low light setting like a darkened building, wait to remove your sunglasses until after you’ve stepped into the low light area. This will avoid you taking a bright blast of sunlight that will diminish your ability to more quickly adjust to the low lighting.
9.) If you’ve just entered a darkened room where you believe a suspect may have been hiding long enough to have visually adjusted to the darkness, consider shielding your eyes and briefly turning on the lights. This will destroy his night vision. If you do this, be sure you have discretely alerted your partner that you’re going to do this so they can shield their eyes as well.
10.) Train for low light situations. Arrange for training scenarios conducted in low light settings — including on your range — and be sure light level variations remain a consistent variable that’s integrated into your training regime.
