We all know how important our eyesight is and the negative effects that deteriorating vision can have. In this article Age-net looks at ways that you can protect your vision.
Our eyesight is something we all take for granted. It’s only when it deteriorates we sit up and take notice. That shouldn’t be the case, and by the end of reading this, you’ll know exactly what you need to do to keep your eyes healthy.Headaches are one of the first things that indicate that there could be a problem with your eyesight. That’s why if you experience frequent headaches, you will be advised to have an eye test.
Even if you do find that your eyesight isn’t as good as it once was, there are some things you can do that can improve your quality of sight, and reduce the amount of times you need to wear glasses or contact lenses. The more you wear visual aids, the less work your eyes are doing, so it is ideal if you can work with your eyes without the visual aids to help improve your vision naturally.
With that in mind, here’s some pointers to taking essential care of your eyesight
The necessary vitamins and minerals your eyes need to function
You need plenty of vitamins A and C, and you also need to be getting a good amount of copper and zinc in your diet too.
The aging process doesn’t do much good for your eyes because they are used every second you’re awake and as such they take a lot of abuse over the years. They need antioxidants to help the tissue repair itself and the best ones to do that are lutein and zeaxanthin. Spinach and brocholli are great sources of both those antioxidants. Studies have shown that including those foods in your diet can reduce the chance of developing cataracts by as much as 50%.
Foods that contain anthocyanins are great for your eyes too. Grapes, berries, avocado, and aubergines are high in anthocyanins.
The other ingredient that nourishes your sight during times of dim light is beta-carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A. Those with a vitamin deficiency are far more likely to experience vision problems. The richest source of beta-carotene is carrots. So parents are kind of right when they tell the kids to eat their carrots and they’ll see in the dark. While they won’t give you super powers, they certainly make it far easier to see in dim light. Like being able to recognise a shadow in the dark.
Respect the amount of work your eyes do and give them a break
It really doesn’t matter what you do during the day, your eyes are constantly working. They need a break frequently. Even if you’re watching TV, perhaps soaps that are on back to back from 7pm until 9pm, take advantage of the ad breaks by getting some shut eye in.
You may have heard someone saying before that they aren’t sleeping, and that they’re just resting their eyes are looking at the back of their eye lids. (Might even be you who is prone to saying that). That’s actually healthy and it’s not just them being lazy. They’re actually being pretty smart, even if they don’t know it.
Your eyes are one of the hardest working parts of your body so you do need to rest them on occasion. It’s also another reason you should be getting at least eight hours sleep each night. Obviously when you’re asleep, your eyes are getting the much needed break they need.
Three exercises for the eyes you can do anytime
1. Roll your eyes
This is one of the easiest exercises there is but it can be tricky when you first try it. We’ve all rolled our eyes before, usually when someone states the obvious, you’ll give a slight eye roll.
That’s a brilliant exercise you can do anytime, but try doing it while keeping your head straight and you’ll find it more difficult. The aim of the exercise is to get a 360 view of everything around you without moving your head.
Give it a try and see how you get on.
2. The near and far focus exercise
This one can be done with either near focus intent, far focus intent or a combination of the two. You’ll find the combo exercise more fun, because it’s got variety.
Take an object like a pen or use your thumb. Hold it out at arm’s length and focus on it, while slowly bringing it towards your nose. If you have a high degree of focus on it, then the closer the object gets to your nose, it should double. Usually you’ll find that happens when the object gets to within a few inches of your vision.
It doesn’t always, but sometimes it does and that’s just your eyes correcting the vision. When that happens just move the object away from your nose and it’ll come back into focus.
The far away focus is done when you focus on something between ten and up to twenty feet away from you. If you switch between far focus and near focus, you’ll be working with both aspects of your vision.
3. Blink more
Have you ever watched someone speak to you and noticed they don’t blink. It’s quite intimidating. Blinking is natural and for some reason it induces a sense of comfort when we’re speaking to someone and they blink, rather than stare.
When you blink, you’re in darkness for milliseconds, but nevertheless, with each blink your eyes are getting a millisecond of rest. Do that every few seconds and you’ll soon find that eye strain becomes a thing of the past.
That’s an excellent exercise for any of you who work on computers all day long. Blink more often and you’ll reduce the strain on your eyes, and you might even find you can use it to increase your productivity too. Bonus!
That’s all there is to it. Just eat the right stuff, give your eyes a break and take a few moments when you have the time to devote to caring for your sight. Just a few eye rolls, some deliberate blinking and some focus exercises and you’ll be well on your way to reducing eye strain and protecting your vision for years.
