The health of your eyes is critical to your overall happiness and wellbeing. When you consider that over 80% of the information that you take in from the world is through your eyes, the importance of their health cannot be overlooked. Your eyes can capture and interpret more than one-million pulse signals per millisecond and transmit to the brain. Your eyes are truly amazing organs. Your eyes, like other organs of your body, are subject to stress and injury and can lose their full potential if not properly taken care of. It’s important to maintain the health of your eyes even as you grow older.
Here are 6 important tips to help you maintain the health of your vision:
1. Load up on healthy veggies
Omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E can help ward off age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts. These are all contained in green leafy vegetables, such as, spinach and asparagus, other sources include salmon, tuna, eggs, nuts, beans, and other nonmeat protein sources.
2. Avoid the glare
Wear 100 % UVA & UVB Sun protection Sunglasses! UVA and UVB rays are just as bad for your eyes as they are for your skin. Wearing cheap sunglasses without the right protection can actually be worse for your eyes, so be sure to purchase the correct pair of shades to help protect your eyes from (UV) rays. Too much UV exposure increases your chances of cataracts and macular degeneration.
3. Break away
With so much of our day been spent on devices it’s imperative to practice short breaks in between long screen sessions. Get into the habit of looking away from the screen to about 5 m in front of you for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. This will help prevent eye fatigue. Try to avoid additional glare from windows and lights. Use an anti-glare screen if needed. Blink, blink and blink again - blinking keeps your eyes moist and reduces dryness and irritation. If this doesn’t help, then try using artificial tears. Don’t forget to adjust your screens brightness. Having your screen too bright or too dark stresses your eyes out and can cause problems maintaining focus.
4. Become a germophobe
Wash your hands before touching your eyes. Whether you’re putting in contacts or trying to eliminate a small irritation, it’s important to thoroughly wash your hands before making physical contact with your eyes.
5. Stay healthy
Eating correctly and participating in regular physical activity all help your eyes stay sharp. If you are a smoker, quit - it makes you more likely to get cataracts, damage to your optic nerve, and macular degeneration, among many other medical problems.
6. Visit your optometrist regularly
The earlier vision problems are detected the easier they are to treat. Schedule an eye test for both children and adults at least once every two years. Report any change in your vision, such as eye pain, redness, flashes of light or floaters or circles to your optometrist straight away, as this could save your eyesight. Eye tests can also detect diseases. Many eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration cluster in families, so you should know your family's history because you may be at an increased risk.
Studies suggest that looking after your eyesight may benefit your overall health, as people with vision problems are more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as be at increased risk for falls and injury. It doesn’t take much effort to implement the above habits into your daily living, the benefits will go a long way to ensuring you keep your peepers healthy and happy for years to come!
Date Published: 21 January 2021
