A Simple Guide to Treating Your Vision Problems at Home
Our eyes are among our most important sensory tools. They are the primary way most of us gather information about what's going on around us as we live, work, interact with people, and move around safely. However, with age, our eyesight may dim and our eyes may tire. It is, therefore, very important that we take good care of them through a proper diet, special exercises, and healthy habits that reduce the amount of stress and effort we put upon our eyes.
But first, how do we even know if we are losing our eyesight?
How do you know if you are losing your sight?
If you are losing your vision, chances are you may not even know it. Vision loss happens so gradually that you may not recognize you have a problem until it becomes a much larger one. According to the World Health Organization, more than 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired. About 80 percent of those cases could have been avoided or cured with proper treatment. The best way to prevent such deterioration is by going to regular check-ups with your eye doctor, but there are additional things you can do yourself to prevent and treat eyesight loss.
If you find yourself suffering from sudden and temporary blurred vision,
changes in your night vision, changes in how you read and write,
increased clumsiness (brushing more and more against objects) or an
increased sensitivity to light, then you may be developing an eyesight
problem.
If you found out about your problem early, or if you just want to keep
your eyes healthy, there are many things you can do for your eyes that
are completely natural and highly beneficial.
Natural ways to improve your eyesight:
Eye-friendly Diet: Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables will keep your eyesight from deteriorating and might even help improve it! Vitamin A, C, and E are all important to eye health as well as foods rich in antioxidants.
Also, don’t forget to add Omega 3 to your regular diet. These fatty
acids are essential nutrients that have great health benefits. Most
people know that they are good for your heart, but many don't realize
that they can help keep your retinas healthy and slow down age-related
eyesight deterioration.
To get all of these great nutrients, you can eat more things like kale, chard, collards, spinach, and carrots. Salmon and tuna are excellent for omega-3 and if you want even more beneficial non-meat protein you can have some bananas, beans or nuts.
It's important to remember that a change in your diet alone will only protect your eyes from more harm and can only lead to a minor improvement in your sight.
Perform Eye Exercises
One of the best ways to naturally improve your vision is to perform daily eye exercises. Don't forget, your eyes have muscles just like your arms or legs.
Start by doing an eye "warm up." Rub your palms together and place them over your eyes. Hold your hands over your eyes for five to 10 seconds, and repeat 3-4 times.
Your first exercise should be to just roll your eyes up and down without straining them too much. Look up as far as you can, and then look down. Repeat this 10 times. Now look to each side, repeating 10 times. Finally, roll your eyes in a clockwise motion about 10 times, then reverse the movement and roll them counter-clockwise 10 times as well.
When you are done, grab a pen or a pencil and hold it at arm’s length, making sure it is at eye level. Focus on the tip as you slowly move it closer to your eyes. Always focus on the tip as you move the pencil closer to you, and then back to arm’s length. Repeat this 9 more times.
When you're done, massage your temples with your fingertips and gently move to your eyebrows and under your eyes as well. If your eyes feel tired, close them and let them rest for a few moments. Just like at the gym, these muscles can get tired if you overwork them.
Lifestyle Changes:
If we are not careful, bad habits can accumulate over time. Even the little things we do can have negative consequences that keep building up if we are prone to doing them regularly.
1 – Stop smoking: Smoking can lead to macular degeneration later in
life, as well as cataracts.
2 - Make things bigger and brighter: It's very stressful for your eyes
to look at small and dark objects, and doing so regularly may lead to a
decline in your eyesight. To prevent this you can do many things - like
changing the font size of the text you read and using the zoom option on
computers and cell phones. You can also adjust the brightness settings
on electronic screens and see if your paper has a larger-print edition.
3- Take more breaks: Practice the "20-20-20" rule. If your work or hobbies involve staring at a screen for long periods of time, take a break every 20 minutes, and focus on a point 20 feet away (6 meters) for at least 20 seconds. It will let your eyes relax a bit and change your focus.
4 - Rest properly: Getting enough sleep at night is important for the
health of your eyes. If your eyes are well-rested, they will be in a
much better condition during the day.
5 - Wear sunglasses: Too much exposure to ultraviolet light can lead to
macular degeneration and cataracts. The old myth about staring at the
sun has some truth to it, so avoid it when you can. If you don’t want to
wear sunglasses, a simple hat will also protect your eyes nicely.