If a person waits too long to focus on improving their vision health, there is a large risk of developing advanced eye disease. There are many actions that can be taken to help reduce the risks of eye disease, particularly for seniors, who are especially at risk.
Exercise for the body is also healthy for the eyes. Push to walk briskly for 30 minutes every day at a minimum. Even small amounts of exercise are known to help prevent heart disease, and diabetes and improve your vision health. There are also specific easy eye exercises that can be performed daily. Exercise your eyes to keep the muscles in good shape and prevent myopia, astigmatism, and farsightedness.
When going for your walks, go outdoors! With the sunlight hitting your eyes, your brain produces wakeful and alert chemicals. Sunlight can help improve the overall mood and helps your body to produce vitamin D. However, it is important to keep a balance since the wavelengths of light in sunlight can damage the eye over time.
One of the most helpful things that people can do is to incorporate better screen habits. Computers, TVs, games, phones…they all help us but have a detrimental effect on our eyes. To start, try to keep screen time to under 5 hours a day, if possible. Turn down the brightness on your devices, reduce the blue light from the screen with an app or a filter, and stop using electronic devices at least 2 hours before going to bed as well.
Start incorporating eye-healthy foods into your diet such as the Mediterranean diet. In addition to a better diet for better vision, look to also take supplements that combine several herbs and antioxidants together in order to help your eyes.
In addition to all of the ways you can help yourself, don’t forget to get regular dilated eye exams from an optometrist or ophthalmologist to ensure that your eyes are healthy.