Take Care of Your Eyes

7/1/2021

Your eyes play a crucial role in how you move through the world and enjoy your life, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep.

They do the important job of capturing light. Then, different parts of the eye system work together, connecting with neurons that translate and deliver messages to the brain as visual images.

For all these reasons, it’s important to keep your eyes healthy. Follow these simple measures to maintain good vision and enjoy lifelong eye health.

Get an Annual Eye Exam
Eye specialists are trained to determine and improve your vision with eyeglasses, contact lenses and eye exercises. They can provide total eye care, from examinations and vision correction to the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. You should visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist for an eye exam once every year, or if you experience eye infections or symptoms of disease such as blurred vision, eye pain, or swelling.

Eat a Balanced Diet
As part of your healthy diet, choose foods rich in antioxidants, like Vitamins A and C; foods like leafy, green vegetables and fish. Many foods – especially fatty fish, such as salmon – contain essential omega-3 fatty acids that are important to the health of the macula, the part of the eye responsible for central vision.

Do Cardio Exercise
Several studies over the last 10 years have found connections between regular exercise and reducing risks for several common eye ailments such as cataracts, wet age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Cardiovascular exercises such as aerobics will lower pressure in your eyes, and that helps to keep the retina protected. Cardio exercise also increases the flow of blood to the optic nerve and the retina. Vision problems and eye disease also stem from high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A healthy diet and regular exercise are two of the most important steps you can take to lower both.

Get Your Sleep
Your eyes need a minimum of 5 hours of sleep every night to replenish themselves and be ready for the next day. This means that sleeping for 6 hours or less is not giving your eyes much opportunity to recover and thrive. Instead, they’re operating on the bare minimum of recovery time. You’ll feel the difference when you get the sleep you need. You’ll look great, you’ll perform at home or work—and good rest will support the health of your eyes.

Wash Your Hands
Keeping your hands clean is so important when it comes to your eyes, especially if you’re a contact lens wearer. Before you touch your eye—and before you put in or remove a contact lens—wash your hands with a mild soap and dry with a lint-free towel. Some germs and bacteria that come from your hands can cause eye infections, like bacterial conjunctivitis (pink eye). When you touch your eye, whatever is on your fingers goes right onto your eye’s surface. This is one way that people catch colds—rubbing their eyes while they have cold virus germs on their hands.

Wear Those Sunglasses
To protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light, choose sunglasses with both UVA and UVB protection. Do not mistake dark-tinted sunglasses as having UV protection. The darkness of the lens does not indicate its ability to shield your eyes from UV rays. Many sunglasses with light-colored tints – such as green, amber, red, and gray – can offer the same UV protection as very dark lenses. Also, wearing a hat with a brim will greatly reduce the amount of UV radiation slipping around the side of your sunglasses.

Avoid Blue Light
You're probably using digital devices for hours each day at work and at home. These devices are exposing your eyes to high energy blue light. It's called “blue light” because the wavelengths emitted are near the bluer part of the spectrum. These devices play an integral role in our lives, so it’s not realistic to suggest you avoid them entirely. Here are some tips to help when you're on your digital device:

Keep your computer screen within 20"-24" of your eye.
Keep the top of your computer screen slightly below eye level.
Adjust lighting to minimize glare on the screen.
Blink frequently.
Take a break every 20 minutes to focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.