A number of bad habits that can damage our eyes. By avoiding these bad habits, you can preserve your vision. Here are just a few ways to look after your eyes.
Stay safe in the sun
It’s important to always wear shades outdoors on a bright and sunny day. Exposure to UV light from the sun can cause a painful eye condition known as ultraviolet keratitis. You’re also more likely to develop cataracts if you’re constantly out in the sun without shades.
Other forms of bright light can also damage our eyes such as lasers or welding arcs. If you work with bright light, make sure that you’re protecting your eyes.
Eat your vegetables
Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and collards are full of vitamins and nutrients that are good for our eyes. Make sure that you’re getting your fix of these veggies.Â
Carrots are also very good for our eyes – while they may not necessarily help you to see in the dark, they do contain lutein and beta carotene that help to protect the eyes from sunlight damage.
Avoid eye strain from screen time
Staring at a bright screen for long periods can lead to eye strain. While this doesn’t have any long term damage, it can cause temporary blurry vision, headaches and fatigue. Make sure to give your eyes a rest by taking regular breaks from the screen.
If you’re using a bright screen at night, look into apps and settings that are able to reduce the blue light levels. You should also make sure that the room is adequately lit. Using a bright screen in a dark room will make eye strain much worse and it could also mess with your body clock – either making you incredibly sleepy or causing insomnia.
Know when you need corrective vision
If you’ve noticed that you’re straining to see things clearly – either close to you or far away – it could be a sign that you need glasses. Almost everyone needs some form of corrective vision as they get older, however you can develop sight problems at any age.
An eye test will be able to tell you exactly what prescription you need. You can then choose to opt for glasses or contact lenses. If you want to save money and access a larger selection of glasses, shopping online could be the best way to do it. It’s important that you wear your prescription otherwise you’ll continue to cause strain to your eyes and could develop headaches and fatigue (activities like driving may also become dangerous).
Quit smoking
Smoking can increase the risk of developing cataracts and macular degeneration. If you needed another good reason to give up smoking, this could be it. Vaping may be able to reduce some of the damage to your eyes as it eliminates the smoke element as well as getting rid of other chemicals. There are also other ways to give up smoking such as nicotine patches, nicotine gum and hypnosis.