Bad Habits That Could Be Aging Your Eyes
Just like every other organ in your body, everything you do has effects on your eyes. From nutrition, sleep patterns, and daily activities, it is possible that you are prematurely aging your eyes, without even knowing. Keeping them healthy is important in order to maintain your vision. Here are 7 things that can prematurely age your eyes.
1. Poor diet:
While maintaining a healthy diet is beneficial in many ways, there are certain vitamins and nutrients that are linked to healthy vision. These essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals can help to maintain your vision and protect your eyes against diseases that can affect your sight. The nutrients shown to be beneficial for eyes include: beta-carotene, bioflavonoids, lutein, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, zinc as well as vitamin A, C, D and E. A diet rich with leafy greens, colorful fruits and vegetables accompanied by wild-caught fish such as salmon can help to ensure your get these essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients. There are also eye vitamins and supplements that can fill nutritional gaps, however maintaining a healthy diet is the best option.
2. Sleep Deprivation:
The mind as well as the body repair and replenish themselves during sleep, making adequate shut-eye essential to your health, including the eyes. Lack of sleep doesn’t only cause immediate effects to the eyes, but prolonged sleep deprivation can have long-term effects as well. Sleep deprivation can accelerate aging of the eyes. They cause red, bloodshot eyes as well as dark circles, eye twitches, dry eye and blurry vision. It’s important to maintain a proper sleep pattern.
3.Forgetting About Sunglasses:
Sunglasses aren’t just a stylish accessory, they help to provide vital protection to your eyes, preventing direct exposure to the sun’s harmful rays. UV and high-energy visible (HEV) rays can prematurely age and damage the eyes as well as the eyelids. Extended exposure to the sun’s harmful rays can result in photokeratitis (sunburn to the front surface of the eye), cataracts, macular degeneration, pinguecula and pterygium and cancer of the eyelid. Wearing sunglasses that block 100% of UV rays and the most damaging HEV rays whenever you are outdoors is important to help maintain your healthy vision and prevent premature aging.
4.Not Drinking Enough Water:
Water makes up more than ⅔ of a person’s body weight, making it very important to consume the proper recommended amount of water for many reason, including eye health. Water helps to rejuvenate the body, and a lack of water can result in a dehydrated body causing the eyes to not produce enough tears. This can result in dry eye, redness and puffy eyelids.
5. Rubbing Your Eyes:
The skin around the eyes is very sensitive and one of the first areas on the face to show signs of aging. Rubbing your eyes can cause the tiny vessels under the skin’s surface to break and cause dark circles as well as puffy eyes. Rubbing them can also result in premature crow’s feet and drooping eyelids. Anti-wrinkle injections and cosmetic eyelid surgery can rejuvenate the eye area, but prevention is the best option. Avoid pulling and tugging the skin around your eyes to prevent all of the premature aging.
Smoking has been proven countless times to be dangerous and have hazardous effects to just about every organ in the body- including the eyes. Multiple research studies have linked cigarette smoking to sight-threatening diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, uveitis, dry eye, and diabetic retinopathy. Smokers are four times more likely to go blind compared to non-smokers, however quitting , no matter how old you are, can reduce your risk of developing any of these conditions.
Many eye diseases and vision problems can be prevented if detected early. Regular eye exams can detect vision problems, and diseases as well as general health problems before you’re even aware of them. Certain sight-threatening diseases have no warning signs until there is permanent damaging, making it essential that you visit the eye doctor regularly to prevent the loss of your sight.
