Work, habits, and ecology affect the entire body, including vision. But keeping your eyes healthy is easy if you know what you are dealing with. We figured out what most often negatively affects the eyes. Perhaps after this article you will want to change your lifestyle.
Table of Contents
Impact of Lifestyle On Eyes Health
Here is how our modern lifestyle affects our well-being and we do not even notice it.
Improper Nutrition
If your body does not get enough nutrients due to an unbalanced diet, then this negatively affects your vision. The eyes need vitamins and carotenoids, namely lutein. These substances regulate the density of the pigment in the retina and protect the eyes from free radicals and ultraviolet radiation. The body cannot synthesize these substances on its own. When a deficiency of carotenoids occurs, the following processes can occur:
- Vision deteriorates
- Night blindness appears (inability to see normally at dusk)
- Visual fields narrow
- The macula becomes thinner
- Cataracts begin to develop
Carotenoids aren’t just present in carrots. They are also present in spinach, broccoli, egg yolk, corn, green onions, mangoes, tangerines, pumpkin, and chickpeas. All vegetables, fruits, cereals, dark green, yellow, orange, and red herbs are suitable. You can also obtain Lutein from dietary supplements, but in this case, consume them together with fats – this is necessary for better absorption.
Smoking
Tobacco smoke irritates the lining of the eyes and provokes the appearance of dry eye syndrome. This manifests itself in the form of redness, burning, and a feeling of grit in the eyes. Tobacco smoke contains many substances, including especially dangerous poisons.
The most dangerous of these are nicotine, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, acetic acid, and cyanides. Yes, the very cyanides, which are the strongest poison. And each of these substances affects different organs.
Effect of Tobacco Smoke On Eyes
If we talk about the eyes, then nicotine and cyanides are the most dangerous for them. Nicotine impairs circulation, which can lead to the development of conjunctivitis, macular defects, and cataracts. Cyanides destroy the nerve cells of the eyes, which can lead to the development of optic neuritis and optic neuropathy.
The latter can even lead to blindness. Besides, tobacco smoke can cause allergic conjunctivitis, which can cause swollen eyelids and itchy and painful eyes. It is worth quitting smoking to maintain sharp eyesight even in old age.
Drinking Alcohol
Drinking alcoholic drinks has become so common that it is present at every party or get-together. People toss and consume alcoholic drinks the whole night, forgetting about their harmful effects. Alcohol’s effect on the eyes is both permanent and temporary. Many alcoholics complain about blurry vision when they excessively consume alcohol.
However, if they continue this habit it can lead to dryness of the eyes. If not cured, a person may also lose his/her vision. You can get help from some specialist to get off this addiction. With the availability of alcohol recovery helplines, you can contact a specialist from anywhere in the world and get guidance. Take advantage of this opportunity and sober-up.
Long-Term Work at The Computer
Long-term work at the computer causes discomfort and irritation of the eyes, as well as dry eye syndrome. You can also call it a computer vision syndrome. Why is this happening? Normally, a person blinks every five seconds, but when working at a computer, the gaze gets focused on one point. Due to it, blinking occurs five times less often.
As a prophylaxis or if the syndrome is already present in your life, use eye drops, its composition is similar to that of a natural tear. And for longer hydration, use drops with hyaluronic acid. But first, go to an ophthalmologist as self-medication is useless.
You may need drops to repair the tear film. Working at a computer for 8-10 hours a day causes intense eye strain. This constant stress leads to myopia (nearsightedness). Myopia causes visual discomfort, and can also lead to thinning and fragility of the vessels that feed the eyes.
Excess UV Radiation
Ultraviolet light is outside the spectrum visible to the eye. That is, a person does not feel its influence on the eyes, but it exists. There are three types of ultraviolet rays – C, B, and A. The first are not dangerous for humans, because they get eliminated by the ozone layer of our planet. The latter get retained by the ozone layer only partially and harm the cornea and mucous membrane of the eye.
But they do not penetrate the depth of the eye and do not affect the lens. But the lens absorbs the rays of the spectrum A; ultraviolet also damages the retina, which after that does not recover. Intense exposure to ultraviolet radiation causes photokeratitis – a sunburn of the cornea or conjunctiva.
How to Prevent Visual Impairment
- Place the monitor at a distance of 60 centimeters both at home and at work.
- If the monitor is on the side, place it in front of you. It is important to do this so that there is no imbalance in the load on the eyes.
- Adjust the brightness on the monitor so that you feel comfortable. Do the same with contrast and resolution.
- Install the lighting in the room so that there is no glare on the monitor. The contrast between an illuminated monitor and an unlit keyboard adversely affects vision.
- Take breaks of 10 minutes after an hour of work. Set a timer and rest. And yes, you shouldn’t look into a smartphone at this time.
- Do eye exercises during breaks. Rotate them, close for five seconds, rub your palms until hot and apply to your eyes. It seems nonsense, but it works and the eyes get better.
Conclusion
Even if your eyes are doing fine, start taking care of them since it is not so difficult. Make it a part of your life, get used to it. Three weeks is enough if you practice discipline. If you already have vision problems, then you either wear glasses or lenses.
