Top 10 Best Eye Health Tips
Eyes have never worked as hard as they do today, with constant screen time leaving them never able to rest. So, we all need to take care of our peepers, which is why Mr Sheraz Daya, who was the eye surgeon who restored Katie Piper’s eye sight with corneal stem cell transplantation, has devised these tips on how to keep your eyes healthy. Written specially for National Eye Week – September 24 to 30, they’re tips that we all need to do all year round.
Mr Sheraz Daya, Medical Director of Centre For Sight
1 Eat a healthy diet – Vitamins A, C, E and minerals like copper and zinc are essential to eyesight. Current research shows that consuming yellow and green vegetables can help prevent age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.
2 Make sure you get enough sleep each night – this is essential for eye health, sleep allows your eyes to fully rest, repair, and recover.
3 Quit smoking – It makes you more likely to get cataracts, damage to your optic nerve, and macular degeneration.
4 Wear sunglasses – sunglasses will protect your eyes from the sun’s UV Rays, too much UV exposure boosts your chances of sun and macular degeneration.
5 Look away from the computer screen – Rest your eyes every 20 minutes. Look 20 feet away for 20 seconds and close your eyes for 20 seconds. Get up at least every 2 hours and take a 15-minute break.
Pic: iStockphoto
6 Remove eye make up every night – this prevents any make up from going into your eye and possibly scratching your cornea.
7 Wear the right lenses – it’s very important to wear the correct prescription lenses, visiting your eye doctor regularly is important.
8 Exercise! This is important because it improves blood circulation, which, in turn, improves oxygen levels to the eyes and the removal of toxins.
9 Regular eye exams become more important when you reach your 50s – you want to be certain that no problems are beginning to develop and certain medications can affect your vision and eye health, so it’s important to tell your doctor about all of your medications.
10 Avoid dry air – aim your car vents down at your feet rather than at your face, air conditioning takes the moisture out of your eyes which can lead to serious dryness.
Moira Chisholm
I'm the Health Editor on My Weekly and am always interested to hear what's new in this fascinating field. I also deal with the gardening, shopping pages, general features, our website content and the Ask Helen problem page. I have a special interest in Christmas content because I'm on the team for Your Best Ever Christmas Magazine, too!
