People are placing a greater demand on their eyes today than they ever have before. Staring at a computer screen and watching television for hours has become commonplace. Even people who read books are constantly straining their eyes to read small print.
As the demand on our eyes has increased, science has come to their aid. Every town has an eye doctor’s office, and many local and online businesses sell glasses and contacts. Lasik surgery, which is the latest development in medical eye care, has quickly become popular.
However, people do not need to rely solely on modern medicine to help their eyes. There are many ways people can strengthen their eyes naturally. Here are seven natural ways to improve or maintain your vision.
Take a Multi Vitamin
Vitamins and minerals, as the following tips will show, are essential for good eyesight. In general, vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc and copper, help eye sight. These are often found in vegetables, but the easiest way to get them all is to take a multi vitamin.
Eat Foods Like the Baylor Bears
For most people, eating like a football player would be unhealthy. However, reproducing the Baylor Bear’s uniform colors on your plate might help your eyes. Baylor University’s colors are dark green and yellow, and vegetables that are these colors contain important nutrients that protect the macula from sun damage. Spinach and other dark greens, as well as pumpkins, carrots, yams, egg yolks and yellow peppers all contain essential nutrients. Specifically, they have lutein, zeaxathin and beta-carotene.
Sacrifice Your Breath for Your Eyes
Eating foods that give you bad breath, such as onions and garlic, can help your eyes’ lenses. These foods have sulfur, lecithin and cysteine. Capers and shallots also have these nutrients, and they do not have the side effects of garlic and onions.
Go Fishing…In Cold Water
Cold water fish have several fatty acids, including DHA. DHA helps all cell membranes, including those in the eyes. Salmon, sardines, cod and mackerel all have DHA. In addition to DHA, many of these fish have omega-3 fatty acids, which are regarded as another healthy fat.
Sleep
People sleep because their bodies need rest, and eyes are part of the body. Eyes benefit from sleep, just as every part of the body does. Even though they move rapidly at the advanced stage of sleep (the REMS cycle), aiming for at least seven to eight hours of shuteye a night can help the eyes.
Take Breaks During the Day
Many people work on computers for most of their day. Even those who use a computer sparingly can easily spend several hours on one each day. Taking a break every hour can help ease the strain on one’s eyes. People should be intentional about periodically looking away from their computer screen for several minutes.
Exercise the Eyes
Like any muscle, eyes can benefit from exercise. Warming them with one’s palms, after rubbing the palms together, can help the eyes relax. Rolling them several times clockwise and counterclockwise is also helpful. The eyeball should not be massaged, but the temples can be gently massaged. Finally, focusing on a specific point while it moves toward and away from your eyes is good. Try holding your finger out at arm’s length, focusing on it and moving it towards your nose. Then move it back out and repeat.
These are some suggestions for naturally maintaining one’s eye sight. In some cases, they might help improve vision or delay age-related vision problems. In every case, they make one’s eyes happier.
