How’s your vision?
Though vision is crucial to our daily lives, eye health is often ignored—even if it noticeably starts to worsen. In fact, four in ten Brits do just that, believing their vision is ‘good enough to get by.’ Another 62% don’t get eye issues checked if it’s possible they’ll require surgery. As a result of waiting for these problems to be resolved on their own, many in the UK suffer from completely preventable vision impairments and loss.
Fortunately, you can avoid all that by simply incorporating a few eye-friendly practices into your healthy lifestyle routine. Here are some of the things you can do—including diet, exercise, and more:
Diet
As we’ve recently noted, keeping the insides healthy will make the outside happy. That same logic applies to your eyes: the proper nourishment will reward you with good vision. Fortunately, the best foods for your eyes are fruits and vegetables that contain other nutrients that can prevent diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Take Vitamin A, which is crucial for helping your eye’s photoreceptors work properly. Though mostly found in animal-derived foods, you can also easily get them from carrots, mangoes, and red capsicum. You’ll also need lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect against vision loss-causing diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) while acting as a natural sunblock for your eyes. You can get these in foods like red grapes and spinach. So, as you strive to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, try to curate what you eat to maximise the eye-friendly nutrients you consume.
Exercise
According to a 2023 study from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, working out enhances blood circulation to prevent an overgrowth of blood vessels in the eyes. That may lower your risk of developing AMD. Doing so can also make you less likely to get glaucoma, another blindness-causing disease that damages your optic nerve. With all the other benefits exercise has for your overall health and well-being—including improving your mood, mobility, and the health of various muscles, bones, and organs to prevent disease—you may want to start working out regularly if you aren’t already. You can start slowly, like with quick 10-minute walks around your local area, before moving to longer jogs and runs. You can also choose activities you particularly enjoy, like dancing or Pilates.
Sunglasses
This piece of eyewear is vital for protecting your eyes—not just during the summer but year-round. Regardless of whether it’s cloudy or sunny, the sun’s UV rays can penetrate your eyes and cause accumulative damage that leads to AMD, cataracts, and even cancer. That makes sunglasses essential for long-term eye health. However, beware of cheaply-manufactured pairs, as they may not provide the best protection possible. It’s best to buy from a reputable retailer to ensure the best quality. One great place to look is Sunglass Hut: its catalogue includes sunglasses from reliable brands Ray-Ban and Oakley, which are guaranteed to shield against 100% UV rays and are made with quality craftsmanship to ensure durability. These brands are also more likely to offer lens types and tints that provide additional benefits, like prescription lenses for vision correction and polarised coatings to cut out glare that can cause photo keratitis (snow blindness).
Screen time
British adults are spending increasingly more time looking at digital devices. A 2022 Lenstore estimates that we spend 75% of our waking hours doing just that. However, since your eyes weren’t designed to look at things up close for long periods, excessive screen time can affect your ability to coordinate and focus. Aside from disrupting your sleep patterns, the blue light devices emit can also damage your retinal cells and cause computer vision syndrome—which is characterised by headaches, eye irritation, and blurred vision. That’s why it’s vital to limit your screen time. Try to keep device use outside of work to two hours a day, and follow the 20-20-20 rule: look 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. If your work is screen-heavy, you can also buy glasses specifically designed to block blue light. Consider getting them from reputable manufacturers like Ocushield, as they sell models developed by optometrists.
Eye exams
This is arguably the most important step you need to take. Just like yearly check-ups with your Doctor, regular eye exams conducted by optometrists are crucial to catch and treat issues as early as possible. It’s ideal to do so at least every two years, but don’t hesitate to contact your optometrist immediately if you notice any concerning vision changes.
Eye health is essential—and maintaining it can be fairly easy, so try these tips to keep healthy vision for longer. Keep browsing our site for more recipes, lifestyle tips, and health hints!
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Laurena x
