Proven Ways to Protect and Improve Eyesight

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Eyes are windows to the soul, but more importantly, they are one of the most important means by which we perceive the world. In fact, 80% of what we experience on a day to day basis comes through our sense of sight. Unfortunately, though, there are no specific remedies that can effectively improve eyesight without using corrective measures like laser surgery or prescription eyewear if you suffer from astigmatism, hyperopia (farsightedness), or myopia (nearsightedness).

However, there are things that you can do to maintain your eye health and enhance your vision. In the following points, we will walk you through some simple, proven ways that you can protect and improve your eyesight, so let’s get right to it.

Load up on Key Vitamins and Minerals

As is the case with all health-related matters, the road to optimal eye health starts with proper nutrition. A balanced diet rich in antioxidants, Vitamins A, C, and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc can help maintain eye health and slow down age-related vision loss. Other key nutrients that can help protect your eyes and improve your eyesight include lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are naturally found in the retina. 

You can find these essential nutrients in foods like carrots, salmon, flaxseed, zucchini, eggs, red peppers, sweet potato, strawberries, broccoli, spinach, and other leafy vegetables. Proper nutrition can also prevent macular degeneration of the eye. It is a common age-related condition that often results in blurred vision or loss of vision in the center of the visual field.

Exercise Regularly

Fitness and overall well-being go hand in hand, which means that maintaining a healthy weight can help promote eye health. As you may already know, type 2 diabetes is especially common amongst those who are overweight or obese. Aside from increasing your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes puts you at a higher risk of serious eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma. It can also cause damage to the tiny blood vessels in the retina, potentially leading to blindness.

Regular exercise is not only good for your waistline, but it is also good for your eyes, as it helps lower your chances of developing type 2 diabetes and its many complications, consequently protecting your eyesight.

Protect Your Eyes from Blue Light

Protecting your eyes from excessive blue light exposure is a must if you want to prevent your vision from deteriorating. If you wear prescription glasses, you need to make sure they can block blue light, especially if you spend long hours staring at your computer or any other digital screen.

The best blue light blocking glasses are those that have red-tinted lenses, but you will also find yellow-tinted and clear lenses that can filter out blue light. To gauge how effective they are at protecting your eyes, you can perform a simple blue light test by looking at an RGB chart. Without the glasses, you’ll see that the chart has a light blue and white center where the red, green, dark blue circles intersect. If you can’t see the light blue center with your glasses on, that means that they are working.

Wear Sunglasses

Aside from enhancing your look, sunglasses also protect your eyes from harmful UVA rays. Direct or excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays can damage your eyes, resulting in various conditions that can cause blurred or reduced vision, such as macular degeneration, cataracts, and pterygium – a growth of tissue over the sclera (the white part of the eye).

Wearing shades is one of the most important steps you should take to maintain your eye health and improve your vision. The stylish frame isn’t the only thing you should consider when looking for a good pair, though; you’ll want to make sure that your sunglasses block at least 99% of UVA and UVB radiation.

Get Regular Checkups

Prevention is always better than cure, which is why you should see your ophthalmologist every one to two years, depending on your age, eye health, and potential risk factors. By performing a comprehensive eye exam, your doctor can catch any possible issue right away, helping you maintain eye and vision health.

Give Your Eyes a Break

Working a desk job that requires you to stare at a computer for extended periods at a time or spending long hours on your smartphone puts your eyes under a lot of strain, and just like the rest of your body, they need a break every now and then. To ease the strain and prevent your vision from deteriorating, follow the 20-20 rule. That means taking a 20-second break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away.

Since it can be hard to judge a distance of 20 feet inside, you can look out a window and try to focus on a tree or lamppost across the street instead. Alternatively, you can just close your eyes for 20 seconds every 20 minutes to give them a break and prevent them from drying.

Quit Smoking

It’s no secret that smoking is bad for you; it damages your lungs, heart, skin, hair, teeth, and pretty much every other body part, including your eyes. As a result, smoking increases your risk of developing many health issues, including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, optic nerve damage, and glaucoma – all of which can negatively impact your vision and eye health.

Fortunately, your eyes – and other body parts, too – can start to recover from years of tobacco-induced harm within just a few hours of quitting. The longer you stay away from cigarettes, the healthier your eyes will be.

Maintaining eye health often comes down to making healthy lifestyle choices, reducing eye strain, wearing protective eyewear, and making regular visits to your ophthalmologist. Not only will this help protect your eyes, but it will also reduce the odds of blindness and vision loss and help you prevent or manage any developing eye diseases, such as glaucoma and cataracts.

The above tips can help you improve your eyesight and keep your vision as good as possible for as long as possible. However, if you have any chronic conditions or eye diseases, it’s best to ask your doctor for specific tips that will help enhance your eyesight and eye health.

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