Relying on our gadgets increased when Covid-19 pandemic started. Screen time on:
-Tv, watching on netflix
– Phone , browsing Social media
– Laptop, attending online class and webinars
And many more are causing our eyes to suffer in various ways.
Blue lights which can be found in electronic gadgets are linked to eye problems such as eye strain , blurry vision , dry eyes, muscular degeneration , cataracts and some sleeping issues.On a study , they found that too much exposure to this kind of light can harm light-sensitive cells like those found in our retina.
What we tend to do is rely on eye drops. What we forget most of the time is that there are certain foods that can protect and take care of our eyes.
- Omega-3
Is a good fat which helps our eyes to produce oil which can be found at the edge of our eyelids. Omega-3 improves dry eyes and lessens the need of artificial tears or what we call ‘eye drops’. Omega-3 can be found to :
- Fish and other seafoods
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseed oil
- Yogurt
- Seaweeds
- Eggs
- Avocado
- Nuts and legumes
Contains vitamin E that can protect our eyes from age-related damage .
- Walnut
- Cashew
- Peanut
- Lentils
- Vegetables with green leaves
Leafy green vegetables contains lutein ( anti-inflammatory) and Zeaxanthin ( eye vitamin, makes its way to the center of the retina , builds a color yellow pigment as a shield to protect eye from the damage of certain kind of lights) are source of vitamin C that is friendly to our eyes.
- Kale
- Collard
- Spinach
- Carrots
Are rich in Beta carotene (lessens the impact of oxidative stress from light, can improve your ability to see in dark a bit) and Vitamin A ( helps our eyes to absorb light , deficiency of this kind of vitamins can lead to ‘night blindness’ said researchers)
- Citrus-y fruits
Are high in vitamin C (antioxidant, helps form collagen,can protect us against cataracts and AMD eye or Age-Related Macular Degeneration)
- Orange
- Tangerine
- Grapefruit
- Pomelo
- Lemon
- Lime
- Egg
Yep , eggs are not just an option when you want something to eat at midnight and cannot go out or order something for yourself. It’s also a good source of lutein and zeaxanthin. It also contains vitamin E (anti-oxidant, helps our eyes against free radicals) and Zinc (brings the vitamin A from our liver to retina, maintains retina’s health)
- Water
Water is essential not just for our eyes but to our well-being. Drinking water regularly and not just when we like to is beneficial for us. It prevents us from being dehydrated , and can minimize the symptoms of dry eyes.
Consuming these foods on a daily basis will help our eyes to prevent eye damages.
Other things we can do to help our eyes:
- Schedule screen times
- 20-20-20 rule . For every 20 minutes on your screen , try to look away at something 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds.
- Don’t forget to blink from time to time to moisturize your eyes
- When you are using a fan , don’t set it steadily in one direction. There’s a big chance that it can contribute to dry your eyes.
- When putting on your face mask , make sure that there’s no space for your breath to escape up to your eyes. Because your breath is warm and it can evaporate the moisture inside your eye.
- Use sunglasses when going outside at 10 am to at least 3pm to minimize the light absorbed by the eyes.
- When exposed to high pollution places , you can literally wash you eye using eye wash solutions from drugstores. It contains 99% purified water and 1% for other ingredient like salt and boric acid (helps fight bacterias and germs)
- Some scientist believes that staring to green color like plants , grass, trees helps us to calm down and somewhat soothes the eyes .
- You can try palming , rub your hands to make it a bit warm for a few seconds and then cover your eyes with it .
In the midst of this pandemic , our eyes are the most used. So might as well take care of it as it takes care of you in doing your job.
