Our eyes are an amazing gift from God, and it is our responsibility to preserve and protect them. Discover how the healthy habits you’re already familiar with can also benefit your vision and eye health.
This is the third installment of how to maintain good vision by taking care of our eyes. At the end of each installment, I highlight one amazing fact about our eyes. (If you missed the previous posts, find out the best foods that support both eye and brain health and how to protect your eyes for good vision).
Stay hydrated
Drinking enough filtered water is a healthy habit for wellness, and this includes good vision.
The aqueous and vitreous humors are fluids that maintain the shape and optical properties of the eyes and consist mostly of water. To maintain good vision, it is crucial to keep this gel-like substance hydrated.
Also, we need plenty of water to produce adequate tears to keep the eyes lubricated and flush out dust and debris.
How much water should you drink? Everyone is different, so consult your healthcare provider for your specific goals on how much water you need. A general guideline is to divide your body weight in pounds by 2 to determine the number of ounces of water and other liquids to drink per day.
Maintain healthy blood pressure
High blood pressure, called hypertension, causes damage to the blood vessels and nerves in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye.
Symptoms include headaches, double vision, dim vision, and vision loss.
Often, symptoms do not occur until damage to the eye is advanced, so monitoring your blood pressure and keeping it within normal limits is an essential healthy habit for good vision.
Get quality sleep
Did you know sleep is a healthy habit for good vision? Sleep recharges our body and brain, but it also provides rest for our eyes.
The most important habit for sleep is to establish a sleep routine by going to bed around the same time every night and getting up around the same timeevery morning.
How much sleep is enough? The average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep. Everyone is different, but do you feel refreshed when you wake up? If not, perhaps you are not sleeping long enough or sleeping too long.
Manage stress
While stress is a natural part of being human, managing stress is a healthy habit for good vision.
First, excessive stress can elevate cortisol levels and promote chronic inflammation. Uveitis, or inflammation of the eye, can lead to vision loss if not treated promptly.
Also, stress can cause an increase in blood pressure, which may damage the retina.
Finally, stress causes the pupils to dilate. Prolonged dilation of the pupils can cause sensitivity to light and involuntary muscle movements in the eyes.
Get a regular eye exam
Be sure to get an eye exam at least every two years. Your frequency depends on other risk factors. Check with your primary healthcare provider for recommendations.
It is essential to detect eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration early on since symptoms may not occur until the disease is advanced.
Final words
Our eyes are an amazing gift from God. He created an intricate system that allows us clear and vibrant vision.
The cornea, which is the clear covering on the front of the eye, has no blood supply, because blood would make our vision blurry. So, the eye contains clear fluids called the aqueous and vitreous humors to maintain the eye shape and supply oxygen and nutrients to the cornea and the lens of the eye.
God created an amazing mechanism of controlling the pressure in our eyes. The trabecular meshwork, a complex tissue containing tiny valves, maintains the intraocular pressure of the aqueous humor in our eyes to a narrow acceptable limit.
Without this intricate system, even a slight imbalance in the production and drainage of fluid could cause increased pressure inside the eye, causing damage to the optic nerve and potential vision loss, known as glaucoma.
Thank God for His incredible craftsmanship when creating our eyes, allowing us to witness the beauty of the world.
