EYE CARE AND EYE EXERCISES

Eye is an essential part of the body as it is our organ. For humans the eyes are more than just windows to the outside world. They are also portals inward, providing others with glimpses into our inner thoughts and feelings. Of all primates, human eyes are the most conspicuous; our eyes see, but they are also meant to be seen. If you have poor vision or suffer from eye strain then it is said that there are two ways to improve your eyesight: LASIK or by wearing Corrective Lenses. Your eyes are after all muscles and when muscles are not exercised they become slack and exhausted.

Eye Exercises can help with eye strain and may help your eyes feel better. If you have a common eye condition like Myopia (Near Sightedness), Hyperopia (Far Sightedness) or Astigmatism you probably won’t benefit from eye exercises. People with the most common eye diseases like: age related macular degeneration; Cataracts and Glaucoma will also see a little benefit from eye exercises. A condition called as digital eye strain is common among people working at computers all day. These problems can cause– dry eyes, eye strain, blurred vision, and headache.

Eye exercises probably won’t improve your vision but they can help with eye comfort, especially if your eyes get irritated at work.

Some useful Eye exercises to alleviate eye strain are:

• Palming: It is one of the best eye exercises you can do to relieve tired, worn eyes. It’s like a warm eye compress on the go! Rub both palms together until they are warm. Then place both palms over your closed eyelids. The warmth of your hands will gently heat your eyes. And you will feel the muscles of your eyes begin to relax and keep your palms there until all the heat has been absorbed by your eyes.
• The Eye Press: In this close your eyes and inhale deeply. Put your fingers on your eyelids and press lightly. Use a bit of gentle pressure on your eyes. Hold them for about 10 seconds. Slowly open your eyes and blink them for a bit to help in reorient. Then repeat this for 10 times it will give you maximum eye relief.
  
• Zooming: Another eye exercise for healthy eyes is called zooming. This is great for those who look at a computer screen all day .Sit on a chair in best posture then hold your arm straight out in front of you with your thumb up then keep your eyes on your thumb, slowly bend your elbow to bring your thumb closer to your eyes. This exercise will provide relaxation to your eyes.
• Top 5 foods for healthy eyes are:
  1. Fish- Many fish are rich source of omega -3 fatty acids. Eating oily fish offers high levels of omega-3 rich can be beneficial for your eyes.
  2. Nuts and legumes- Nuts and legumes are good for eye health .as they contain high level of vitamin E.
  3. Citrus fruits- They are rich in Vitamin C which is good to fight against age related eye damage.
  4. Leafy Green Vegetables- These are rich in both Lutein and Zeaxanthin and are also good source of eye friendly Vitamin C.
  5. Carrots- These are both rich in Vitamin A and beta carotene. They play essential role in vision. As they help the retina to absorb light.
     Let us discuss some things that can help you in maintaining healthy eyes and good vision:
     1. Protect eyes from short wavelength visible light: Most digital devices LED, Fluorescent lights emit more wavelengths and which causes damage to retina which may result in age related problems like macular degeneration. Special glasses and lens coatings are available to block short wavelength visible light.
     2. Protect your eyes from the sun: The sun emits harmful UV rays which can damage your eyes over long term. Choose sunglasses with UV- A and UV- B protection with adequate coverage and wear a hat.
     3. Do not smoke: Smoking exposes your eyes to high level of noxious chemicals and cause age related problems like macular degeneration i.e. AMD and Cataracts
     4. Do Regular Exercise: Exercise can improve blood circulation and increases oxygen level to the eyes.
        Are Eye Exercises safe?
        

        The upside of not having a positive effect on vision is that they also do not cause negative effect. It does not hurt at all to sit on the floor with your hands over your eyes imagining being enveloped in pure darkness. Relaxation is good just do not expect better vision when you finally open your eyes. Reading numbers of a calendar without your glasses is just teaching you to read through your blurry vision not to improve it.

        Yoga can reduce your level of eye discomfort, blurry vision and other symptoms of eye strain.

        “Of all my body parts my eyes get the most exercise I do at least a thousand eye rolls every day”

        How to exercise your eyes?

        1. Focus Change: This Exercise works by changing your focus. It should be done from seated position. Hold your pointed finger a few inches away from your eyes, then focus on your finger, slowly move your finger away from your face, holding your focus look away for a moment into the distance then focus on your outstretched finger and slowly bring it back towards your eyes, then look away and focus on something in the distance. Repeat this for three times.
        2. 20-20-20 Rule: Eye Strain is a real problem for lot of people. If you work on the computer all day the 20-20-20 rule may help to prevent digital eye strain. To implement this rule every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

        Some more eye exercises are:

        • Eye movements: This eye movement exercise also helps with digital eye strain .Steps to do this exercise are: Close your eyes then slowly move the eyes upward then downward repeat this exercise for three times then slowly move the eyes to the left then to the right repeat it for three times.
        • Figure 8: In this exercise focus on an area on the floor around 8 feet away. Move the eyes in the shape of a figure 8 then trace the imaginary figure 8 for 30 seconds then switch direction.
        • Pencil pushups: Pencil push ups can help people with convergence insufficiency.A Doctor might recommend this exercise as a part of vision therapy. In this hold a pencil at arm’s length, situated between the eyes then look at the pencil and try to keep a single image of it while slowly moving it towards the nose. Move the pencil towards the nose until the pencil is no longer a single image. Position the pencil at the closest point where it is still a single image repeat it for 20 minutes.

         

         

        Eye Exercises for kids

        • Play memory games
        • Do eye shift exercise
        • Perform tracking exercises
        • Perform eye writing exercise

        Point to be noted: Eye exercises do not reduce spectacle number. Exercising your eyes regularly can help a lot but it cannot reduce your dependence to spectacles. However it is myth that exercises can help to remove your spectacles and give you perfect eye vision suddenly.

        Some more exercises for all age groups are:

        Rotate eye ball 10 circles to left then blink your eyes ,then rotate eye ball 10 circles to right  then blink your eyes then close your eyes as tightly as you can and hold for 5 seconds and than relax. Repeat for this 10 minutes.

        “The mind is the eyesight of the soul “ – Friedrich Schiller

        Tips for eye health

        • Wear Sunglasses. Protect your eyes from damaging UV Rays with polarized sunglasses that block out both UV-A and UV-B light.
        • Take healthy diet full of fats and anti-oxidants. Eat carrots! They are great source of Vitamin A.
        • Wearing corrective lenses will not weaken your eyes.
        • Quit Smoking.

         

        Bottom line:

        Staying Active at any age helps to promote overall health. Building a healthy foundation is Important for raising children to be healthy adults. Take proper balanced diet .Drink plenty of water to reduce symptoms of dry eyes.