Maintaining goodeye healthis important for your overall quality of life. Eyesight can affect everything from reading and performing tasks at work to communicating with others.
If you have problems with your vision, there are ways to improve your eyesight naturally without lenses or surgery.
Natural remediescan’t permanently fix conditions likenearsightedness,farsightedness, andastigmatism. But healthy habits like regular exercise and eating a more nutritious diet can help improve your eye health and eyesight.
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Role of a Healthy Lifestyle
Having trouble with your eyesight is very common. About 12 million people aged 40 and older in the United States experience vision impairment of some kind. About 6.8% of children under the age of 18 have a diagnosed eye condition.
You may be eager to learn how to improve your eyesight in a week or a month. Unfortunately, it’s usually not a quick fix. However, an easy way to address some vision problems is to adopt healthy lifestyle changes.
People who improved cardiovascular health with a heart-healthy diet and exercise have a lower risk of developing ocular diseases likeage-related macular degeneration,glaucoma, anddiabetic retinopathy.
Eat a Healthy Diet
To prevent degenerative, potentially blinding conditions like glaucoma, your eyes need vitamins and nutrients.
Some vitamins and minerals contain antioxidants that can stop the progression of age-related macular degeneration. These include:
Which fruit is good for eye health?Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in many nutrients, including antioxidants (like vitamin C) that may help your eye health. Some examples of fruits rich in vitamin C include: berries, kiwi, oranges, and grapefruit.
Which fruit is good for eye health?
Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in many nutrients, including antioxidants (like vitamin C) that may help your eye health. Some examples of fruits rich in vitamin C include: berries, kiwi, oranges, and grapefruit.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients that you can find in green leafy vegetables and eggs. They can help reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.
Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for visual development and for the eye’s retinal functioning.
You can find these crucial nutrients in common food items:
How Eating Carrots Daily Can Improve Your Eye Health
Get Regular Exercise
Regular exercise is great for your overall health, particularly your eyes. One study showed that people who engaged in moderate exercise on a regular basis were 25% less likely to develop glaucoma.
Health conditions that can stem from a lack of physical activity and weight gain can significantly affect your eye health. For example, diabetic retinopathy can lead to vision loss and blindness in people who have diabetes.
Manage Health Conditions
Some chronic conditions can have an impact on your eye health. If you are managing a chronic condition, you should ask your healthcare provider how it affects your body as a whole.
Common conditions that can affect eye health include:
Other chronic conditions that can affect your sight include:
Chronic health conditions tend to be more common in older adults with vision impairment than in those with better eye health.
Contact your eye doctor and primary healthcare provider if you notice any changes to your vision, especially if you have a chronic condition linked to eye problems.
Visit Your Eye Doctor
If your vision seems to be changing gradually, visit youroptometristorophthalmologistfor an eye exam to assess your vision. They will be able to determine if it’s a symptom of a more serious underlying condition.
Ask your eye doctor questions and tell them about any vision changes you experience. Your doctor may ask you questions like:
Adults without any risk factors foreye diseaseshould have a baseline eye examination at age 40, and every two to four years until age 54. Adults aged 55 to 64 without risk factors for eye disease should have an eye examination every one to three years, and then every one or two years after that.
Seek emergency care if you experience:
What Is an Eye Exam?
Use Eye Protection
Do what you can to protect your eyes from harm. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun can greatly damage our eyes.Sun damage can contribute to cataract formation.
Wear sunglasses whenever you are outside, not just on sunny days. Your sunglasses should:
Aftercataract surgery, it’s especially important to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes
Rest Your Eyes
You should give your eyes a break regularly.Asthenopia, or eye strain, is when your eyes are sore, tired, or achy, especially after looking at a computer or phone screen for too long. It can happen when you use the muscles that control your eye movements for a long time.
20-20-20 ruleRest your eyes using the 20-20-20 rule:Every 20 minutes, shift your eyes to look at an object at least 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds.
20-20-20 rule
Rest your eyes using the 20-20-20 rule:Every 20 minutes, shift your eyes to look at an object at least 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds.
Rest your eyes using the 20-20-20 rule:
Every 20 minutes, shift your eyes to look at an object at least 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds.
Quit Smoking
Smoking can increase your risk of lung cancer and other conditions. It can also damage your vision. It can make your eyes scratchy, sting, or red.
Smoking can also increase the risk of:
Eye Exercises
Eye exercises can alleviate discomfort or irritation, but they won’t cure eye diseases or correct vision.
Optometrists sometimes recommend vision therapy to develop or sharpen visual skills or change the ways people process visual information. It usually consists of exercises that are conducted during office visits and at home over the course of two months.
Depending on your condition, you may also be given training glasses, prisms, filtered targets, or balance boards to help test and improve your vision.
Different kinds of vision therapy include:
Do Eye Exercises Improve Your Vision?
A Word from Verywell
17 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fast Facts: Vision Loss.Cruz NDL, Shabaneh O, Appiah D.The association of ideal cardiovascular health and ocular diseases among us adults.The American Journal of Medicine. 2020;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.06.004Harvard Health Publishing.Top Foods to Help Protect Your Vision.National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals.American Optometric Association.Diet and nutrition.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Could Exercise Help Prevent Eye Damage?National Eye Institute.Diabetic Retinopathy.American Diabetes Association.How to Eat Healthy.American Heart Association.The Eyes Have It for High blood Pressure Clues.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision Impairment and Chronic Health Conditions.Söderberg PG, Talebizadeh N, Yu Z, Galichanin K.Does infrared or ultraviolet light damage the lens?.Eye (Lond). 2016;30(2):241–246. doi:10.1038/eye.2015.266Roberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens. 2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Academy of Ophthalmology.How to Pick the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes.Stanford Health Care.Eye Strain.New York State Department of Health.Smoking Can Lead to Vision Loss and Blindness.American Academy of Ophthalmology.How Do Smoking and Vaping Damage the Eyes?American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.Vision Therapy.
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fast Facts: Vision Loss.Cruz NDL, Shabaneh O, Appiah D.The association of ideal cardiovascular health and ocular diseases among us adults.The American Journal of Medicine. 2020;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.06.004Harvard Health Publishing.Top Foods to Help Protect Your Vision.National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals.American Optometric Association.Diet and nutrition.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Could Exercise Help Prevent Eye Damage?National Eye Institute.Diabetic Retinopathy.American Diabetes Association.How to Eat Healthy.American Heart Association.The Eyes Have It for High blood Pressure Clues.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision Impairment and Chronic Health Conditions.Söderberg PG, Talebizadeh N, Yu Z, Galichanin K.Does infrared or ultraviolet light damage the lens?.Eye (Lond). 2016;30(2):241–246. doi:10.1038/eye.2015.266Roberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens. 2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Academy of Ophthalmology.How to Pick the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes.Stanford Health Care.Eye Strain.New York State Department of Health.Smoking Can Lead to Vision Loss and Blindness.American Academy of Ophthalmology.How Do Smoking and Vaping Damage the Eyes?American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.Vision Therapy.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fast Facts: Vision Loss.Cruz NDL, Shabaneh O, Appiah D.The association of ideal cardiovascular health and ocular diseases among us adults.The American Journal of Medicine. 2020;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.06.004Harvard Health Publishing.Top Foods to Help Protect Your Vision.National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals.American Optometric Association.Diet and nutrition.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Could Exercise Help Prevent Eye Damage?National Eye Institute.Diabetic Retinopathy.American Diabetes Association.How to Eat Healthy.American Heart Association.The Eyes Have It for High blood Pressure Clues.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision Impairment and Chronic Health Conditions.Söderberg PG, Talebizadeh N, Yu Z, Galichanin K.Does infrared or ultraviolet light damage the lens?.Eye (Lond). 2016;30(2):241–246. doi:10.1038/eye.2015.266Roberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens. 2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Academy of Ophthalmology.How to Pick the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes.Stanford Health Care.Eye Strain.New York State Department of Health.Smoking Can Lead to Vision Loss and Blindness.American Academy of Ophthalmology.How Do Smoking and Vaping Damage the Eyes?American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.Vision Therapy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fast Facts: Vision Loss.
Cruz NDL, Shabaneh O, Appiah D.The association of ideal cardiovascular health and ocular diseases among us adults.The American Journal of Medicine. 2020;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.06.004
Harvard Health Publishing.Top Foods to Help Protect Your Vision.
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals.
American Optometric Association.Diet and nutrition.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Could Exercise Help Prevent Eye Damage?
National Eye Institute.Diabetic Retinopathy.
American Diabetes Association.How to Eat Healthy.
American Heart Association.The Eyes Have It for High blood Pressure Clues.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision Impairment and Chronic Health Conditions.
Söderberg PG, Talebizadeh N, Yu Z, Galichanin K.Does infrared or ultraviolet light damage the lens?.Eye (Lond). 2016;30(2):241–246. doi:10.1038/eye.2015.266
Roberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens. 2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9
American Academy of Ophthalmology.How to Pick the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes.
Stanford Health Care.Eye Strain.
New York State Department of Health.Smoking Can Lead to Vision Loss and Blindness.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.How Do Smoking and Vaping Damage the Eyes?
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.Vision Therapy.
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