Generally, eyesight weakens with advancing age but lifestyle plays an important role. If you look at your grandparents, most of them still do not need spectacles. They can ably see and read things. On the other hand, kids these days wear power lenses. Understand the difference. Lifestyle including dietary habits and exercising also affects eye health. We should consume good food and do eye exercises daily to promote vision and improve eyesight.
One of the common causes of eyesight issues in people these days is the digital strain. This term is used to define excessive exposure to digital screens including smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices. Long-term use can impact your eyes and you may experience dry eyes, itchy & irritated eyes, redness, blurry vision, etc. Doing eye exercises daily would ease the discomfort to your eyes and relieve digital strain.
Exercises to relieve eye strain
Focus shift
This exercise helps in improving focus.
- Sit on a chair with a straight back.
- Bring your finger in front and hold it some inches away.
- Focus your vision on the finger.
- Slowly move the finger slightly back and forth without shifting the focus.
- For 2-3 seconds, look away at any other thing.
- Now, bring focus again on the finger.
- Repeat the same 3-4 times.
Near and far focus
This is quite similar to the focus shift exercise with a little change. This exercise is also meant to be performed in a seated position.
- Bring your finger in front of the eyes about 10-12 inches away.
- Focus on the finger for 15 seconds.
- Find something that is kept 10-15 feet away from you and now focus on that object for another 15 seconds.
- Now, shift your focus on the thumb again.
- Repeat this at least 5 times.
Figure eight
Sit in a relaxed position.
- Focus on a point at least 10-15 feet distant from you.
- Now, roll your eyes to make number 8.
- Do this for 25-30 seconds.
20-20-20 Rule
This is not an exercise but an important instruction that you must follow especially if you work on a computer or laptop. This helps in minimizing digital eye strain. According to this rule, you must exercise your eyes every 20 minutes. Just focus at a distant object for 20 seconds after every 20-minutes.
Also Read: Are You Struggling With Vision Issues? Know What Is Better, LASIK Surgery or Lens Implants?
Tips for better eye health
Along with doing eye exercises, here are a few other things that you must do:
- Get an eye examination every year. This helps in finding whether you have any eye problems since most eye diseases do not exhibit noticeable symptoms.
- Wear blue light glasses when working on digital screens and sunglasses when you are heading out in the sun. This blocks harmful UV rays that can damage the eyes.
- Eat foods that are rich in vitamin A and antioxidants. Vitamin A is an essential protein for eyes. Carrots are best for eyes.
- Wear lenses or glasses if your doctor has prescribed them. This may not improve your eyesight but would prevent them from weakening further.
As we all know that for most of the people, the dependency on screen has increased to a drastic level. One must take all necessary actions to be safe from any extra strain on the eyes. If not treated or controlled on time, the same lead to irreversible consequences too.
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