4 Ways To Start Taking Care of Your Eyes Today

Like your teeth, your eye health will lessen over time. Unlike teeth, you can't get false eyes, so taking care of the pair you have is the best way to avoid serious issues as you age. You are never too young to start healthy habits that will preserve your vision. Just as in skin health, you want to start taking action to avoid issues long before any are evident. Here are a few things you can implement that will keep those peepers bright and clear.

Supplement Your Diet

The best natural supplementation you can incorporate into your lifestyle always begins with food. Filling your diet with foods that are high in antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, carotenoids, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin is a natural way. That may sound like a scary list, but actually, you can get all of these healthy nutrients through some very common foods such as salmon, sweet potatoes, beans and legumes, broccoli and winter squash.

Your diet alone may not be giving you the targeted nutrition you need for eye health so taking a supplement or two couldn't hurt. One great supplement is chlorella. For eye health, this sea algae has lots of lutein and beta-carotene, but chlorella benefits don't stop there. It is commonly thought of as a superfood and a tiny capsule offers potent antioxidants as well as B vitamins, zinc, iron and magnesium.

A great multivitamin can help you make sure you're getting those antioxidant vitamins and a simple OTC zinc capsule can help fill the gaps in your diet. You can also pump up your omega 3 levels with a supplement, but make sure it's a quality one.

Schedule Annual Exams

Getting in to see your optometrist or an ophthalmologist once a year is essential to maintaining the health of your eyes. Regular exams will track your eye health and catch any issues as soon as they appear. Other health issues can have a big impact on your eyes, so be sure that you let your eye doctor know about any chronic conditions you may have.

Get Great Sleep

Getting enough quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your overall health but can be crucial for your eyes. Only when your eyes are closed do they get a chance to rest and like the rest of your body, eyes regenerate and heal while you sleep. If you are sleeping the recommended amount of time each night but still find yourself exhausted, you should talk with your doctor about checking for sleep apnea. This impairment can cause serious health issues including being a factor in glaucoma.

Avoid Straining Your Eyes

Take care of your eyes by not over-taxing them during the day. With so many people relying on computers and mobile phones to both work and socialize, it is very important to mitigate the potential damage of these devices.

Invest in a cheap pair of blue-light blocking glasses and wear them when you are on your computer. Many optical stores are now offering this as an add-on to your prescription lenses as well.

Make sure to adjust the brightness level on your screen and to use another form of lighting in the room you are working in. Don't watch TV or work on a monitor for long periods in a completely dark room.

Specialists say that about every 20 minutes that you are staring at a screen, you should take a break, blink several times and then focus on something across the room for a few seconds. Allowing your eyes to rest, rehydrate through blinking and use their distance lense for a bit will help you avoid serious eye strain.

Your eyes are essential in everything you do. Make sure they stay healthy by taking in the right combination of nutrients through food or supplements, getting 7 or 8 hours of quality sleep every night, eating the right foods or supplements to support eye health and taking simple measures to avoid eye strain.