There are several ways to maintain good eye health, from eating the right foods to washing your hands. These tips are sure to improve your vision. Also, be sure to get plenty of sleep every night. If you follow them, you can expect better eye health. Here are ten tips to follow:
There are plenty of simple ways to improve your eye health - Photo by Marina Vitale
Wash your hands
It is essential to wash your hands before and after touching your eyes. This is because your hands collect germs, and the bacteria can cause conjunctivitis or corneal ulcers. To prevent eye diseases, it is best to wash your hands regularly after touching your face, food, and animals. It would be best if you also washed your hands after handling your contact lenses, medicines, or garbage. You can also improve your eye health by practicing hand hygiene at home.
Besides protecting your eyes from harmful bacteria, proper hand hygiene is also good for your overall health. People touch their faces up to 23 times an hour. Twenty-seven percent of these times are spent touching their eyes. As a result, these touchings may introduce bacteria that can cause infections. Washing your hands is an excellent way to prevent colds, infection, and conjunctivitis.
Eat Well
There are plenty of simple ways to improve your eye health. These strategies include eating the right foods for your body, which can help prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. In addition, specific vitamins and minerals are also crucial for eye health. These nutrients include vitamin C and vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and other beneficial substances. To get them, fill your plate full by:
- Tuna, salmon, and other oily fish
- Beans, eggs, nuts, and other nonmeat protein sources
- Oranges and citrus fruits
- Pork and oysters
Get enough sleep
People who don't get enough sleep are likely to have eye problems, particularly if they are constantly using electronics. Reading, driving at night, and using your mobile phone all day can stress your eyes. Fortunately, proper sleep can help reduce the effects of these activities on your eyes. If you experience frequent headaches from eye strain or glaucoma, you may want to consider getting extra sleep.
A good night's sleep is critical for eye health. It helps the body restore itself after a stressful day, restoring moisture and lubrication to the eye. In addition, sleep also helps the eyes clear irritants. If you have concerns or questions about sleep, bring them to your next eye exam. In addition to restoring your vision, a good night's sleep also improves your general health.
Quit Smoking
One of the best ways to protect your eye health is to quit smoking. In addition to lowering your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, quitting smoking also improves the overall health of your body. To find out how smoking affects your eyes, speak to an eye doctor. They can advise you on how to stop and begin a healthier lifestyle. Also, quitting smoking can improve your eye color, making your eyes appear yellower and less contrasty.
Use Safety Eyewear
The United States alone suffers from 2.4 million eye injuries each year. In 2013, nearly 50,000 people lost some or all of their sight. Safety eyewear is the first line of defense against eye injuries. But it's not enough to have proper eye protection. Knowing what kinds of safety eyewear are appropriate for different work environments. You may need different tints for different environments, and if you're not wearing proper safety eyewear, you'll likely suffer from eye strain or eye fatigue.
Wearing a good pair of glasses can help prevent fatigue caused by poor vision. Poor quality safety eyewear can also cause eye strain and decrease productivity. The time you spend refocusing your eyes can be spent working, not watching TV, or worrying about your health. Eye fatigue also results in a lower sense of visual awareness, which affects your safety awareness. It's a vicious cycle. So, make sure your eyewear protects your eyes.
Wear Sunglasses
Most people don't realize it, but wearing sunglasses helps prevent eye disease. The UV rays that the sun emits are harmful to our eyes. If exposed to them, you will develop age-related macular degeneration, which affects your central vision. Besides cataracts, you can also develop skin cancer around your eyes, including melanoma. Sunglasses help protect your eyes from this type of cancer, so you should always wear them whenever you are outside.
When purchasing sunglasses, you must talk to your eye doctor first. He will give you suitable recommendations for your eyes. Your doctor can also help you decide which shade and tint to get. Although modern eyeglasses have adequate UV protection, getting tinted sunglasses is not always necessary, as tinted lenses provide other benefits, such as glare reduction. Sunglasses can also be a fashion statement, and if you don't mind making a style statement, wear a pair.
Supplementing with carotenoids
For healthy eyes, supplementing with carotenoids may help protect the macula from oxidation and UV-light damage. Among them are lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids in the retina. You can also find them in leafy broccoli, zucchini, green vegetables, and eggs.
Zeaxanthin and lutein can also be taken in supplement form. These vitamins help protect the retina from age-related damage and increase visual distance.
Maintaining a healthy weight
Studies have shown that healthy body weight can prevent serious eye diseases. Increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake and reducing sodium consumption can improve your vision. These foods are also excellent sources of antioxidants. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can also enhance eye health. Eating a diet low in fat and refined sugars can also help you maintain a healthy weight. This is because a healthy weight helps you to prevent obesity-related diseases, also known to affect vision.
Look Away From the Computer Screen
If you use a computer for work, you can improve your eye health by looking away from the computer screen for 20-second every 20 minutes. Whether staring at a computer screen for hours or reading a book on your laptop, you need to take some time out from working on your computer to refresh your eyes and reduce dryness. Try rewetting your eyes every few minutes. Using eye drops can help, too.
Studies have shown that looking away from the computer screen can reduce computer vision syndrome symptoms, including watering eyes, blurred vision, and eye strain. In addition, researchers have found that taking short breaks to gaze at something distant can reduce the occurrence of computer vision syndrome, which affects millions of people worldwide. The 20-20-20 rule was developed to help alleviate digital eyestrain, a condition in which you take a 20-second break every 20 minutes.
Visit Your Eye Doctor Regularly
If you are a regular wearer of glasses or contact lenses, you may want to increase the number of times you visit your eye doctor for an eye exam. A thorough exam is necessary to ensure that your prescription is up-to-date and to detect eye problems. A comprehensive eye exam can also detect eye diseases such as cataracts. The exam will also include tests to measure your visual acuity, which measures your ability to read near and far objects with the help of a magnifying glass.
Your eye doctor will perform several tests during an exam. While evaluating your eye health and vision, your doctor will discuss your risk factors for eye diseases and how to prevent them. A thorough eye exam may include a test known as a phoropter. The phoropter has several lenses that the doctor can look at to see if you have poor central or peripheral vision. Your eye doctor will also examine your eyes' muscles and overall health.
