Improving vision in the world overloaded with technology

Do you spend the whole day in front of the computer? How many times do you check your phone per day? Do you wind down watching a show or a movie or playing video games? It’s not an attack on you, it’s the new reality that we’ve been living in for the past decade and so much so in the past year.

A recent study has shown that people check their phone upwards of 96 times per day! That’s more than 60% up from 2015. Technology did change quite a bit since then but the addiction to our phones also grew so much. 

Back in 2013 an average American would spend 9 hours in front of a computer, cell phone and tv screen.  See the comparison below with data from last year and the year before comparing the times spent with technology. 

TIME SPENT PER DEVICE – PRE-LOCKDOWN Daily: Phone: 4 hrs 33 mins Laptop: 4 hrs 54 mins TV: 4 hrs 30 mins Gaming device: 3 hrs 12 mins TOTAL: 17 hrs 9 min

TIME SPENT PER DEVICE – DURING LOCKDOWN  Daily  Phone: 5 hrs 2 mins Laptop: 5 hrs 10 mins TV: 5 hrs 9 mins Gaming device: 3hrs 45 mins TOTAL: 19 hrs 6 mins

And even though that seems like quite a bit of time and is not applicable to every person, we can agree on the fact that most of us definitely increased the technology usage for sure. And if you are feeling called out in this, I’m not sorry, because that’s the truth. Being stuck at home can do it. Last year was one for history books. 

Another important thing to keep in mind is the amount of time kids spent in front of the computer last year. With the pandemic and taking classes from home the screen usage by the young ones went up significantly.  

Let’s look at some myths about eyesight remedies first:

Myth #1: Eating a lot of carrots will improve your vision. While carrots are full of vitamin A that is known to aid vision and eating carrots is generally good for you, solely relying on them to solve all your problems is not a good strategy. Eating a balanced diet that’s full of nutrients is what’s truly good for you.

Eating a ton of carrots on its own can also make you sick and turn your skin yellow, so practice moderation when it comes to your carrot consumption.

Myth #2: Wearing glasses can make your eyesight worse. If you happen to be one of the lucky ones to wear corrective eyewear, know that it doesn’t make your vision worse or better, it simply provides a way to see things around you better. 

Myth #3: Eye massage or eye relaxation techniques decrease the need for glasses. Using hot or cold compresses or doing eye exercises can help in the moment and relieve eye strain that you’re feeling in the moment. It does not however fix your vision and the need for corrective eyewear. While you should use relaxation techniques when you’re feeling the eye strain it will not be a solution to long term eyesight problems that you have.

         Now, that we got through the myths, let’s get into the juice of this post and talk about the things that you can actually do.

There are a lot of ways to improve and maintain vision while using technology as much we do. 

10 Ways to keep your vision healthy:

1. Eat your veggies. We talked about how eating carrots can improve your vision. Well, that’s not wrong, but carrots are not the only vegetables you should be consuming. 

Vitamins A, C, and E are known to help in prevention of macular degeneration- a condition that causes vision loss in the macula. Zinc also is known to have vision improving qualities. Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids found in the retina that are also found in food and can protect and strengthen macula. 

So, if you’re wondering what you should be eating, here’s a list of foods full of nutrients that are needed to protect and improve vision. And yes, carrots are on the list. 

Nutrients to improve vision	can be found in these Foods:
Lutein, zeaxanthin	Broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens, corn, eggs, kale, nectarines, oranges, papayas, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash
Omega-3 fatty acids	Flaxseed, flaxseed oil, halibut, salmon, sardines, tuna, walnuts
Vitamin A	Apricots, cantaloupe (raw), carrots, mangos, red peppers (raw), ricotta cheese (part-skim), spinach, sweet potatoes
Vitamin C	Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, kiwi, oranges, red peppers (raw), strawberries
Vitamin E	Almonds, broccoli, peanut butter, spinach, sunflower seeds, wheat germ
Zinc	Chickpeas, oysters, pork chops, red meat, yogurt

 

2. Exercise. If you haven’t read any of the other blog posts you should, because exercise tends to be that miracle remedy to everything. Healthy diet and exercise can keep your blood sugar in check, as well as Diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is a diabetes that is also associated more with obesity and can cause damage to the blood vessels in the eyes.

3. Sleep. It shouldn’t be a surprise that having a regular sleep schedule can improve so many things. When you are not sleeping enough and running yourself on low sleepy eyes get strained more and can feel dry and dusty. Having a regular sleep schedule not only can help with those but can also generally improve eyesight.

4. Wear your glasses. Protecting your eyes is crucial, whether it is sunglasses or blue light glasses, that I really should’ve been wearing while writing this post.  Sunlight as well as blue light can be harmful to the eyes and investing in a pair of quality glasses is a good idea.

5. Take screen breaks. We all heard that taking a minute to look around the room or getting away from your desk for a minute is beneficial for the eyes, but really, how often do you actually follow through with this rule. And no, taking a break from your computer screen to look at your phone is not a break. Yeah, you know what I am talking about. I’m not immune from that either. Sometimes work just flows, and then you look at the clock and it’s 5 hours later. The 20-20-20 rule is what’s recommended by optometrists around the world.

Take a break and look:

20 feet away

every 20 minutes

for 20 seconds.

This very simple rule can help prevent eye strain from computer screens and relieve fatigue, headaches, neck tension, and decreased vision.

6. Get your eye exam. Having a regular yearly eye exam can help catch and prevent any potential issues. Adding an eye exam in your yearly doctor checkups can potentially save you lots of issues in the long run.

7. Quit smoking, if you are. Smoking can increase the risk of a range of physical conditions, like optic nerve damage, cataracts and macular degeneration, that we talked about in the first point.

8. Wash your face. Making sure that the hygiene surrounding your eyes is on point is very important. That applies to making sure your glasses are wiped clean and are not smudgy (your eye will unconsciously focus on the smudges and that can be stressful to the eye), cleaning your contact lenses if you wear those, and washing your face so there’s no make-up in the proximity of the eye.

9. Manage chronic conditions. A lot of health conditions can play a part in your eyesight, such as high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis to name a couple. These conditions can create chronic inflammation and can affect your body in a number of ways, that include affecting your vision.  

This is when a healthy diet and lifestyle comes into play, along with the medications that your condition requires. I truly cannot stress enough how important those are.

10. Know your family history. This doesn’t seem as an important one, but it is. A lot of eye conditions are hereditary, this includes glaucoma, retinal degeneration, macular degeneration and optic atrophy. Your family having those conditions does not equate to you developing them, but it definitely puts you in the risk group to develop them. The best way to go about those is by having a regular eye exam and taking the needed precautions.  

The truth is, implementing a healthy lifestyle with a nourishing diet, good sleep regiment and a workout routine (going on regular walks totally counts!) may not seem like a determining factor in eye health, but it is. This doesn’t cost you any extra money and doesn’t require you to buy anything new, like getting vision supplements, although those don’t hurt either.

If you are experiencing any issues with your eyesight the best thing to do would be going to an optometrist and getting that checked out. 

Sources:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-hea%20lthy/top-foods-to-help-protect-your-vision

https://www.nvisioncenters.com/improve-eyesight/

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-eyesight#vitamins-and-minerals

By Co-Author (Primary): Karina Movsesova

Editor: Amanda (Meixner) Rocchio