While we take care of our skin and hair for granted, we often act as if we forget that equal care is required for all organs of our body, and the slogan “prevention is better than cure” never loses its relevance.
Eye health and the quality of our vision also require the development of habits that will help keep the organs of vision in optimal condition. Of course, there are eye defects and eye diseases, the development of which we do not have the slightest influence on, because, for example, they have a genetic basis. However, this does not change the fact that it is possible to create a list of behaviors that will help us take care of our windows of the soul – as the eyes are poetically called. In front of you is a list of 5 behaviors that should get into your habit:
- Healthy nutrition. A balanced diet rich in vitamins, micronutrients and good fats (omega-3 fatty acids) is one of the prerequisites for keeping eyes in optimal condition and preventing diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration and excessively high pressure in the eyeball. Everything you want to know about the effects of vitamins on vision can be found here.
- Taking care to keep your eyes moisturized. This involves not only using sodium hyaluronate moisturizing drops, especially when wearing contact lenses or spending many hours a day in air-conditioned rooms, but also drinking plenty of fluids and taking care to humidify the air in the rooms where we work and stay every day. An air humidifier should also accompany us because when smog creeps into homes, the eyes are irritated even more.
- Massage the area around the eyes. The skin around the eyes and the muscles of the area are well done by a gentle massage or a compress of a warm damp towel or an eye mask. However, it is important to remember that the key word here is “gentle” – massage must not be synonymous with intense rubbing of the eyes, as this is one of the risk factors predisposing to corneal cone formation.
- Eye exercises. It is worthwhile for them to be used not only by short-sighted people, but also by those who work in front of a computer or drive a car for a long time. You can read more about eye exercises for short-sighted people here.
- Frequent exposure to fresh air. Findings indicate that 2-3 hours of being outdoors per day help slow the progression of myopia. This is most likely due to a reduced need to use accommodation, pupil constriction in brighter light (better depth of vision), and a direct effect of light exposure (release of the retinal transmitter dopamine, known to inhibit eye growth-under certain conditions).
Oh, and one more thing: the most important habit we need to develop and establish in ourselves is to have our eyes checked periodically at the ophthalmologist – whether we have a visual defect or not. Read about how often you should have your eyes checked.
