Wellness

6 Health Tips for Seniors on Protecting & Improving Their Eyesight

The eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. Do you know why?

Because your eyes speak clearly about your feelings, thoughts, and mood. Your eyes are often the first thing someone notices about you. Their appearance reveals your health, and your eyes are the key to knowing the outside world.

But as the years go by, your eyes get weaker, and various diseases additionally affect that. So you are probably wondering how to improve and preserve them. 

There are many steps you can take if you want to keep your eyes healthy, and we are here to give you the 6 best ones.

1. Vitamins For Better Vision

There are many reasons why healthy food improves your quality of life, but did you know that it also has a positive effect on your eyes? By ingesting vitamins, you provide your body with building blocks that protect your health and the health of your eyes.

Vitamin A: Vitamin A deficiency is a common cause of vision loss worldwide. This vitamin is essential for preserving your light-sensitive cells (photoreceptors).

Vitamin E: This vitamin is another powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of developing macular degeneration, cataracts, and other visual disorders.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C has antioxidant properties that prevent cell destruction and strengthen your immune system, thus preventing the development of eye infections, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

2. Watch Out For Blue Light

Particles make up light, which travels as energy waves. Depending on where they appear on the spectrum, these particles vary in length and intensity. Blue light with a frequency of 400-450 nm is a short and powerful frequency. Because of its propensity to reach the retina of the eye, this kind of light can cause further damage, such as retinitis pigmentosa. To help you protect your eyes from harmful blue light, the folks at blockbluelight.com.au suggest trying out various types of glasses you can wear and be safe. Blue light-blocking eyeglasses have been thoroughly investigated, designed, and made to completely exclude the blue range of light from displays, LED lights, and all synthetic light sources.

3. Exercises For Better Eyesight

Exercise can help you focus better and stimulate the visual center of the brain.

Eye exercises will also help you reduce eye strain and thus prevent other unpleasant symptoms, including:

  • Dry eye
  • Blurred vision
  • Headaches
  • Focusing problems

Blinking

Flashing pumps the sebaceous glands in the eyelids and thus accelerates the lubrication of the eye surface. The blinking exercise is performed by closing your eyes, pausing for two seconds, and then opening them again. Do this several times a day for 5-10 minutes.

Focusing

Alternately focusing on near and far helps to train your eyes to relax appropriately. Keep your thumb 25 cm from your face and focus on it for 15 seconds. After fifteen seconds, move your gaze to an object 6-7 meters away and hold focus again for 15 seconds. Get back on your thumb. Repeat this several times.

Eights

Choose a point on the floor 3 meters away from you. Draw an imaginary eight with your eyes. Continue for 30 seconds, then change the direction of the drawing in figure eight. Repeat this several times.

Touching the palms

Place the palms of your hands over your eyes lightly and without pressure. Let your fingertips overlap while they are resting on your forehead, while not allowing the light to pass, and breathe deeply for 1 minute.

4. Rest and Relax Your Eyes

Do you know that good sleep is essential for the health of your eyes? If you do not get enough sleep, the next day your eyes will be more tired than usual and you will be more susceptible to the so-called eye strain.

You should also rest your eyes after hard work, such as reading or looking at the screen of a digital device for a long time. Rest your eyes for about 10 minutes for every 50 minutes of work to prevent eye strain.

5. Reduce Exposure to Negative Environmental Influences

Avoid aggressive, too bright screens, smoky rooms, wear sunglasses, and most importantly, do not touch your eyes with dirty hands.

6. Quit Smoking

Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of developing macular degeneration, cataracts, and optic nerve damage, which can lead to blindness. By stopping smoking, or not starting smoking, you can reduce the risk of developing eye diseases and help the health of your eyes.

As the years go by, it is expected for seniors to become susceptible to vision loss, but there are various steps you can take to save your vision. It is important that you have the right information, which we provided you with, and, of course, to go for regular annual check-ups with your ophthalmologist.