Contrary to popular belief, your eyesight isn’t slated to diminish simply because you’re growing older. It’s true the body changes significantly as you age, but your eyes aren’t like your laugh lines or your worry lines. Many people do experience changes to their vision as they grow older, but it has more to do with their lack of proper eye care than their age.
Your eyes don’t know how old you are, and they don’t flip a switch when you turn a certain age. The more you care for them now, the better they’ll work later in life. Don’t just assume you’re destined for poor eyesight and/or blindness once you reach a certain age. You can protect your eyesight now and have better vision later in life.
1. Get to Know Your Family History
Your family plays a significant role in the deterioration of your eyesight over the course of the years, and not just because Great Uncle Lester insists on wearing that blinding neon green suit from 1973 to every family gathering. The family history of poor eyesight or common age-related health issues affects you. According to DocDoc, issues such as glaucoma and cataracts are some of the most common causes of blindness. If your family history shows eye issues like these, your chances of suffering from the same vision-related issues rise significantly.
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2. Don’t Skip the Vision Appointments
Anyone who needs contacts or glasses sees their optometrist like clockwork. Those afraid they’ll need them or live with perfect vision are more likely to skip out on those appointments. Busy schedules, life, and family get in the way, and who has time to see the optometrist when your eyesight is already perfect? Perfect for now, because skipping those annual exams leaves your eyesight at risk. If you suffer from cataracts, for instance, and your optometrist doesn’t see you often enough to diagnose it early, cataract surgery and other treatments might not help your vision as it would someone who caught the issue early. Prevention is key.
3. Wear Sunglasses
They’re not just fabulous for your ensemble, they’re good for your eyesight. Wearing sunglasses protects your eyes from the harmful UV rays the sun shines down. These rays shine into your eyes and increase your risk of developing harmful health issues. Those who wear sunglasses every time they’re outside protecting their eyes from these rays. This protection reduces your risk of developing vision issues and going blind later in life. While many assume it’s just a way of life, it’s not. Something as simple as wearing sunglasses actually minimizes your risk of going blind.
4. Eat Well
Eating well should be something everyone does regularly. It’s good for your mind and your body, and healthy food is often the most decadent. Eating well makes you feel good, look good, and it helps you feel better about life in general.
Eating a healthy diet also provides your body with the nutrients it needs to work at its peak. This includes your eyes. Healthy eating protects your eyesight far longer than eating a poor diet. That’s not to say you can’t eat that cake and drink that wine from time to time, but indulgence is only healthy when it’s in moderation.
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5. Get Physical
With all the proven benefits of exercise, it’s amazing fewer people don’t partake.
Longevity
Weight loss
Improved mood
Less risk of depression
Less risk of anxiety
Better skin
Better sleep
Better vision
These are just a few of the biggest benefits associated with getting physical on a regular basis. According to WebMD, exercise can help your vision significantly. Macular degeneration is a big problem for many people as they get older, and exercise can decrease your chance of developing it by more than fifty percent. Those are big numbers, and you never lose anything from getting a bit more active on a regular basis.
The MayoClinic suggests a mere 150-minutes of moderate exercise each week is all it takes to maintain good health. This means maintaining good eyesight, too. Break that down, and you’re only looking at approximately 21 minutes of exercise per day to maintain your best health and eyesight.
Someone once said growing older is a privilege, and they’re correct. With age comes infinite wisdom and experience, and it comes with many changes. Your good eyesight doesn’t have to be one of those life changes. You can’t prevent your eyes from growing older, but you can care for them now and trick them into thinking they’re a lot younger than they are. You are, after all, only as old as you feel. Keep your eyes feeling young with these exceptionally simple suggestions, and you’re going to keep your eyesight healthy far longer.
