Hello friends. The following are the top 12 easy and safe ways to take care of your eyesight.
From the moment we wake up till the moment we sleep at night, our eyes continuously work for us. It is very important to take care of our eyes. Even if we do not have any vision problems currently, we need to prevent them in the future.
The following are the easy, scientifically-proven, and safe ways of keeping our eyes healthy. Let’s get into the subject right away.
1.
Balanced diet.
A
balanced diet includes foods rich in lutein, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and
vitamins C and E to help in preventing age-related vision problems like macular
degeneration, cataracts, etc. Lutein-rich foods include dark green leafy
vegetables, summer squash, peas, broccoli, lettuce, asparagus, pumpkin,
brussels sprouts, etc.
Opting
for fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut that are high in omega-3 fatty acids also
provides good nourishment needed for eye care.
2. Regular physical and eye exercises.
Regular
physical exercises can prevent conditions like high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, diabetes, etc., which could lead to chronic eye problems. These
problems could sometimes lead to vision damage.
Regular eye exercises should also be considered to provide the extra
care that our eyes deserve.
These are some simple and effective eye exercises from yoga that are meant for preventing and maintaining good eye health. These exercises can be easily performed by side-to-side eyeball movements, up-and-down movements, clockwise continuous movements, and anti-clockwise continuous movements, right and left opposite movements, closing and opening of eyelids, and lastly one clockwise movement and one anti-clockwise movement of the eyeballs per round, all with 12 repetitions.
3.
Use of sunglasses.
Sunglasses
are useful in protecting the eyes from elements like sand, dust, wind, snow,
etc., useful in promoting speedy healing and recovery following eye surgeries
like LASIK, PRK, etc., to enable seeing and enjoying outdoors more freely, to
enable safer driving, and to prevent headaches and migraines that are triggered
due to sun’s bright light in some people. We should make sure that our
surroundings are kept clean.
The use of sunglasses is recommended to prevent the effects of UVA and UVB rays, especially when the eyes are exposed to sunlight as this can increase the risk of macular degeneration, risk of cataracts, risk of keratitis, etc. Style is yet another reason for wearing sunglasses.
4. Limit eye exposure to screens of devices.
We
spend hours using digital devices like cell phones, tablets and laptops every
day and it has become a part of our lives. Most of these devices emit high-energy
blue light waves, which could damage our eyes in a long run. Taking foods rich
in lutein and zeaxanthin can help in filtering the blue light from reaching the
eyes. Another way is to keep the screens 20 to 25 inches away from our eyes. We
can also adjust the setting of the light emitted from the screens to reduce the
glare to make it eye-friendly. Conscious
blinking of the eyes is useful, especially while working with devices. While working, the position of
computer/laptop screens should be about an arm’s length and 20 degrees below
eye level.
Here is an interesting “20-20-20 rule” recommended for the safety of the eyes. For every 20 minutes spent using a screen device, we should look at something that is 20 feet away from us for a total of 20 seconds.
5. Wash your hands before touching your eyes.
It
is important to wash our hands with mild soap and dry them with a towel before
touching the eyes as the insertion of bacteria and germs in the eyes by fingers
could lead to eye infections like pink eye, and contact lens users are more
prone to such infections.
It is always advisable for contact lens users to remove the contacts before washing the face, showering, swimming, etc., as the contacts that act like a sponge, could absorb parasites and bacteria present in the water of pools, lakes, etc., and could lead to mild to severe eye problems. Contacts should be taken out before going to sleep.
6. Quit smoking.
Smoking
damages the blood vessels that are responsible for supplying the blood and
nutrients to the optic nerve. Smoking is
one of the reasons for developing glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts,
dry eye syndrome, macular degeneration, etc.
Tobacco smoke is an eye irritant and could cause dry eye, even in people
with passive smoke exposure including contact lens wearers.
The harmful smoke of cigarettes can cause uveitis, which is the inflammation of the uvea, the central layer. Considering these harmful effects of smoking not only to self but also to those around, it is in the best interest of all to stop smoking once and for all, not only for vision health but also for overall health.
7. Regular eye exams.
It
is recommended that adults between 18 and 60 years should visit the eye doctor
for a comprehensive eye exam once every two years as some eye diseases do
not show warning signs.
These eye exams help the eye care specialists in detecting such conditions early and help in enabling them to provide the required treatments early with ease and avoid any potential vision loss. Some diseases do show warning signs that we should respond to. These signs include red eyes, poor night vision, floaters, flashes of light, swelling of eyes or eyelids, double vision, hazy vision, etc.
8.
Sleep abundantly.
Sound
sleep is important for eye health. With
good sleep, eye cells are restored and these healthy eye cells perform healthy
eye functions. The ideal sleep time
recommended for average adults is 7-8 hours every night.
Abundant sleep can be achieved by maintaining a comfortable temperature in the bedroom, by turning off the laptop/computer or other device screens well before going to bed, by trying relaxing techniques like having a hot bath, having a cup of decaffeinated herbal tea, listening to soothing music, etc., by maintaining about 90-minute gap between the meal and bedtime, and by getting the bed, pillows, etc., properly positioned to ensure comfortable and sound sleep.
9.
Be watchful of other health conditions.
Some
of the eye problems are the result of other health conditions such as diabetes
and high blood pressure. These
conditions cause some changes to the blood vessels and the blood flow to the
eyes gets diminished.
The eyes could also get affected due to some autoimmune diseases including lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Graves’ disease, etc. Some of the medical disorders could be genetic and thus it is necessary to be aware of our family medical history.
10. Caution with makeup material.
More
caution should be exercised while dealing with liquid and creamy eye makeup
material. With any irritation or infection of the eye, the use of such makeup
kits should immediately be stopped and eye care specialists should be met.
People with allergies must always prefer hypoallergenic products. Only safe quality brands should be used. Changing the eye-makeup material every three months should be considered.
11. Keep yourself well hydrated.
Our
body depends mainly on water for smooth functioning. Drinking 8 glasses of
water daily is recommended to keep the entire body hydrated. Decreased fluid
levels in the body lead to decreased tear production and could lead to dry eyes
that in turn could lead to blurred vision.
Tears are responsible for maintaining the eyes moist, washing away the debris, and preventing the bacteria that cause infections. Dehydration can be avoided by practicing regular blinking of the eyes, especially when working on screens. A humidifier can be used as necessary during winter and fall to moisten the air. Clogging of oil glands in our eyelids usually occurs as our age advances, leading to insufficient oil in our tear supply, which could lead to dry eyes. Warm compresses on eyelids help to liquefy the oil enabling free flow into the tear supply, which results in keeping our eyes lubricated.
12. Safety
glasses even for simple tasks.
Safety
glasses are recommended when doing some tasks that could potentially cause harm
to the eyes by way of dust or particles when hammering a nail for hanging a
picture when working with drilling machines, when doing carpentry works, when
doing plumbing works, etc., and when doing the jobs that have the potential for
harming the eyes.
Safety glasses provide protection against chemicals and pesticides, foreign objects or debris, bright and unsafe lights, and prevent eye illnesses.
Conclusion:
It
is important to take good care of our eyes to enjoy the vision we are blessed
with. Prevention is always better than
cure and these methods help us in the process of preventing eye problems.
These simple lifestyle changes can help a lot in the process of maintaining good eyesight as well as for our overall health. However, we can start with one or two methods at a time and slowly add more methods as we move on.
Some methods may seem easy to some people and some methods may seem not so easy to some people. But believe me, these are the scientifically proven methods that are bound to give good results.
I hope that these recommendations were of help to you. I wish you all the very best.
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If
you still find these methods somehow not suitable for you, here is a super
simple way to correct the vision problems.
Click here to learn more.
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