As ‘dry January’ draws to an end and a lot of people pat themselves on the back for doing so well, before you pop the cork on that bottle that’s been looking at you for the last month, just remember it’s all about moderation. Something to consider, especially if your New Year’s Resolution includes adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Making healthy lifestyle changes shouldn’t just include eating healthy and exercising more. If we overindulge for a while, we tend to rein ourselves back in, start to watch what we eat, move a bit more and cut back on alcohol. We look after our skin with different products and treatments and most of us try to maintain healthy teeth and gums by having regular dental check-ups and hygiene appointments. Do you apply the same level of care and attention to your eyes?
The truth is, the majority of us neglect our eyes. We just take them for granted – until things start to go wrong. That’s less likely to happen by having a good general regime for eye health care and maintenance.
What we eat, drink and our general lifestyle all influence our eye health and we don’t always consider the impact of this. For example, too much alcohol can cause muscle weakness in the eyes and can increase a person’s sensitivity to light causing pain and migraines.
Diet can also affect our eye health. Being over weight and a poor diet can lead to the development of diabetes which can affect eyesight. High cholesterol, which again can be caused by poor diet, increases the risk of a stroke which can affect your vision.
We all strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle and adapt our routines and regimes to accommodate changes to our bodies throughout our lives. For example, taking supplements at different stages of our lives or changing skin care products as skin type changes. But not many people give a great deal of thought to eye health and ways in which we can keep our eyes healthy.
10 ways to help keep eyes healthy as we age
1. Have regular eye examinations. It’s recommended to have your eyes examined every two years unless you have a specific condition which requires you to have them examined more regularly. Read more about common eye conditions.
2. Watch your weight and follow a balanced diet. Eat a wide range of fruit and vegetables, including dark green leaves.
3. Quit smoking. Smoking has been directly linked to cataracts and macular degeneration – two of the leading causes of vision loss.
4. Reduce your alcohol intake. The recommendations keep changing but remember ‘everything in moderation’.
5. Keep active. You don’t have to train for a marathon but exercise is good for your eyes. Studies have shown that walking or running could help to lower the risk of developing age-related cataracts. Try to aim for 10,000 steps a day.
6. Take a supplement for eye health. We recommend Actase Lutein, a supplement which contains Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Astaxanthin to help support healthy vision (more information can be found in store).
7. Protect your eyes against UV damage. This is becoming an increasing problem and should be protected by wearing sunglasses and spectacles with the appropriate UK blocking coatings.
8. Ensure we keep our spectacle and/or contact lens prescription up to date. If your prescription changes, it’s extremely important to up date your spectacles. Remember, you’re not insured if driving without glasses when they’ve been prescribed.
9. Take a break. As we tend to spend a lot of our day using different types of digital screens, concentrating can become a bit of an issue. We don’t tend to blink as much so our eyes become dry and sore. Try the 20-20-20 routine. Every 20 minutes look away from the screen to a distance of about 20 meters and blink 20 times. You can also use lubricating eye-drops, which we hold in stock.
10. Introduce a care regime, especially if you suffer from dry eyes. We use the Optase system, using a heat mask to help soothe eyes, cleanse with tea tree oil lids wipes and hydrate eyes with lubricating drops.
As you fall back in love with your eyes, why not update your style with some spectacles or sunglasses. We have a fantastic range of fun and interesting collections for you to browse. Each and every one of our glasses and sunglasses have been handpicked from the best eyewear designers all around the world. And if you can’t choose just one pair – as is so often the case – we have a great offer in store where you can get 30% off a second pair. Terms and conditions apply.
Visit our website to find out more about our designer eyewear collections or pop by the store for a proper look. We’re open Tuesday-Friday from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 9am-4pm. If you have any questions, or wish to book an eye test, please call 01858 433 577.
