We use our eyes every day. From the moment we wake to the moment we sleep, our eyes are in constant motion, helping us complete everyday tasks and enriching our lives with the beautiful sights around us. Without our vision, our lives would be severely compromised. Yet many of us harm our eyes on a daily basis. While certain health conditions can negatively affect our eyesight, our everyday habits can also be to blame. No wonder so many of us rely on glasses and contact lenses to correct our faulty vision.

The following are some of the bad habits that are responsible for affecting our eyesight.

1. Staring at a screen for long periods

 

You may be guilty of this now, but as you’re reading this helpful article, we will let you off. Make sure you give your eyes a break after reading, however! Looking at any screen for a long period – computer, phone, tablet, tv – can cause what medical professionals have termed ‘digital eye strain.’ This includes having dry eyes from decreased blinking, migraines from the glare of the screen, and possible issues with nearsightedness. To alleviate the problem, do as we said. Use your screens less and give your eyes a break by doing something else for a while. If you’re using a screen for work, look away every so often, and turn down the brightness to reduce the LED glare.

2. Wearing contact lenses for too long

While there are advantages to wearing contact lenses, including both aesthetic and practical reasons, there are consequences to overwearing them. Leaving them in too long during the day, or sleeping in them, can cause a number of problems, including irritated eyes, eye ulcers and blurred vision. If unchecked, these issues can lead to more serious problems affecting your eyesight. To alleviate the problem, always remove your lenses if your eyes are starting to feel uncomfortable, and see your optician for advice. Then dig out your specs. There are many advantages to why you should choose glasses over contacts anyway, one of them being the reduced risk to your eyes health.

3. Rubbing your eyes too vigorously

Whether it’s due to tiredness or eye irritation, you need to be careful how you rub your eyes. Rubbing around the surface can instigate skin disorders, and direct contact with the eye itself can increase ocular pressure. This can result in eye pain, nerve damage, and inflammation of the cornea. To resolve the issue, it’s important to get to the underlying reason why you are rubbing your eyes in the first place. If it’s a bad habit, find something else to do with your hands, such as holding a stress ball. If there is itching, consult your doctor or pharmacist for medication or eye drops, and soothe your eyes with a warm compress.

And finally… the good habits

So we have looked at some of the bad habits that can hurt our eyesight, but what about good habits. To better improve the health of your eyes and your overall eyesight, do the following.

1. Eat healthily – Foods rich in vitamins A, C and E are all conducive to good eye health.

2. Rest your eyes – From giving your eyes a break during the day, to getting plenty of sleep, you will improve your overall vision.

3. Perform eye exercises – We strengthen our other muscles during exercise, so we should do the same for our eyes, improving our vision with a little bit of eye gymnastics.

4. See your optician – Regular checkups are a must. For eyesight and other health issues, your optician can help you before any conditions get progressively worse.

It makes sense (sorry for the pun) to protect your eyes, so follow the good habits and heed the bad. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

Via #InspireLSHealth