Improve Your Eyesight by Adjusting Your Lifestyle

Regular check ups with  your optometrist to ensure your eyes are in perfect health is a great way to keep on top of your eye health. But do you know your lifestyle could adversely affect your eyesight with time? Sadly, the impact of poor habits on your eyesight may take a while to be detected but can leave lasting effects.

When it comes to eye sight it can be very difficult to notice any deterioration or damage until it’s severe. Eye sight damage and deterioration often happens so slowly that many of us won’t notice any difference from day to day or even month to month.

Below are a few lifestyle adjustments you can make to improve your eyesight and keep potential vision problems at bay.

Load Up on Nutrients

As the saying goes “you are what you eat” so be sure to fill your body with plenty of vegetables, lean protein and keep well hydrated.

Carotenoids like zeaxanthin and lutein are the retina’s major content. Fortunately, these nutrients are surplus in eggs, broccoli, leafy green veggies, and zucchini. They make the eye pigment denser, shielding the macula from UV rays.

Zinc and vitamins A, C, and E have antioxidant content that protects the macular from corroding. You can find them in carrots, citrus fruits, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and red peppers.

Treat Your Family’s Vision History

Another way to ensure your eyes stay healthy is to identify eye problems that are common in your family and start to take preventive measures against them. Common hereditary eye problems include macular deterioration, glaucoma, retinal collapse, and optic atrophy.

While some of the diseases mentioned above may be untreatable, you stand a better chance if you’re able to identify and manage them early. If you do have any concerns with these then be sure to speak with your doctor about them and they will be able to best advise on what you should do.

Keep Active

Exercising and staying fit keeps your eyes healthy by protecting the blood vessels in them.

By staying fit, you cut down your chances of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a common cause of blood vessel rupture in the eye. This rupture is known as diabetic retinopathy. It occurs when retinal arteries rupture due to injury from excessive blood sugar.

To combat this problem, stay fit and keep your sugar levels low. Try implementing some form of weekly exercise throughout your week. Go for a run, walk or play some form of sport. All of these things will help your overall eyesight and avoid potential problems down the line.

Keep On Top Of Underlying Health Problems

Several health problems can lead to the inflammation of the optic nerves, which can diminish your vision. These problems include multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, and high blood pressure.

Inflammation of the optic nerves is always accompanied by pain, loss of uveitis, and a gradual loss of vision. Diagnosing and managing these problems early can go a long way in safeguarding the health of your eyes.

Maintain Eye Hygiene

The human eyes are very delicate and can be easily irritated by germs. This irritation can cause the eyes to itch, redden, or swell. Consequently, these conditions can cause your sight to deteriorate.

Ensure that your hands are germ-free whenever you need to touch your eyes. For example, avoid rubbing your eyes with unsterilised objects. Also, sanitise your hands and contact lens whenever you need to use them.

Reduce the Strain on Your Eyes

In this day and age, where everything is digitalised, people tend to spend more time in front of screens. Sadly, this habit is bad for the eyes and can cause them to weaken. To improve your vision, always reduce your total screen time, and ensure to take breaks between each session. Consider sitting a little further away from the screen and wear your glasses if they have been prescribed to you. Some people find that blue light blocking glasses help reduce eye fatigue and while there is no scientific evidence to back  the use of blue light glasses, if they improve your comfort while using a screen then there is no damage caused to your eyes by wearing them. 

Protect Your Eyes

Physical injuries to the eyes can also impair your vision. To protect your eyesight, always wear protective equipment whenever you are exposed to the risk of a physical injury. This protection includes wearing lab goggles when you’re handling chemicals and using polycarbonate eyewear when you’re handling tiny objects or playing any form of physical sports too.

Physical injuries are not the only type of injury your eyes should be protected from. You also need to adequately shield your eyes from the damaging effects of UV rays by using protective sunglasses and wide-brimmed summer hats whenever you’re outdoors.

Conclusion

Hopefully, the lifestyle tips above will guide you as you take care of your eyes and keep your vision from deteriorating. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can protect your eyes then feel free to get in touch and we’ll be happy to help!