National Wellness Month – Healthy Habits for Good Eye Health

The OCCS share some good tips to take care of your eye health:

• Balance Diet

A balanced diet rich in certain nutrients is vital for maintaining good eye health. Ensure to include vitamins A, C, and E, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc. These can be found in a variety of foods like leafy greens, colorful vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and oily fish

• Protection from the Sun

Harmful UV rays can cause damage to our eyes and lead to cataracts or age related macular degeneration (AMD) as well as skin cancers around the eyes, so ensure UV protection in the form of creams and sunglasses are worn to protect yourself.

• Screen Breaks

While using screens, it’s recommended to take frequent breaks. The 20-20-20 rule is a helpful guideline: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This allows your eyes to relax and refocus, reducing strain caused by prolonged screen use

• Enough Sleep

A decent amount of quality sleep per night allows your eyes to rest and repair: preventing issues like dry eyes and eye fatigue.

• Quit Smoking

Smoking is linked to many eye conditions such as cataracts and Macular degeneration so quitting will help reduce your risk as well as improving your overall health

• Schedule regular eye checks

It is important to keep up to date with your eye checks as these not only check for any prescription need but also the overall health of your eyes and can help early detection of many conditions you may not experience symptoms.