Good Morning Everybody!
I hope everybody’s Friday is off to a fantastic start! This week’s post centers around our eyes, our peepers, our optics! We all use our eyes for a majority of the day. Basically, if you aren’t sleeping, you are using your eyes. What’s more is, in many professions nowadays, we tend to put extreme strain on our eyes on a daily basis!
When you work at a computer, your eyes have to focus and refocus ALL the time! They move back and forth as you read through e-mails, check your fantasy line-up, browse the 24 hour online clearance sale that Nordstrom’s is having, and even as you work on client files! A majority of us find ourselves looking down at papers and then back up to type on a daily basis! And to make things worse, unlike a book or piece of paper, the computer screen adds contrast, flicker, and glare which makes our eyes work even harder to remain focused on the screen! Our eyes unconsciously react to constantly changing images on the screen so our brains can process what we are seeing. The human body is pretty darn impressive!
That being said, computer work gets more difficult as we age and the lenses in our eyes become less flexible. Somewhere around the age of 35-40, our ability to focus on near and far objects starts to diminish. If you ever experience blurred vision, double vision, dry or red eyes, headaches, eye irritation, neck or back pain, I urge you to read on as I share a few tips I have learned that have helped me keep my eyes in peak shape!
- Our eyes are similar to our biceps or chest muscles in that the more we use and strain them, the more tired they will get. Both need rest in order to re-energize. Try looking away from your screen every 20 minutes, gazing at a distant object (~20 ft away) for 20 seconds (20-20-20 rule). This will give your eyes the rest they need, similar to taking a break at the gym in between biceps curls or bench presses.
- Consume 1-2 servings of carrots per day! Orange-colored fruits and vegetables promote eye health and protect your vision! The beta-carotene (a type of Vitamin A) within these foods gives these foods the orange color and helps retina and other parts of the eye to function smoothly!
- This next tip is my absolute favorite and I picked it up fairly recently while traveling abroad! You want to take your time on this one and really feel each and every repetition. When you wake up in the morning, sit down (or stand), keep your head in a stationary position and perform the following eye movements, 1 set of 10 repetitions for each individual side and eye movement. Be sure to hold each repetition for one second, then move on to other side/direction:
- Move eyes to the left, then move eyes to the right (10 reps each side)
- Move eyes up, then move eyes down (10 reps each side)
- Move eyes to upper left corner, then move eyes to lower right corner (10 reps each side)
- Move eyes to upper right corner, then move eyes to lower left corner (10 reps each side)
- Move eyes in a circle going clockwise, then move eyes in a circle going counter-clockwise (10 reps each direction)
I swear by these 3 tips! They have helped me keep my eyes healthy, energized, and away from glasses or contacts for all 27 years of my life.
Try these out and shoot us a message letting us know how you feel!
