It Starts With Healthy Food Habits

Great eye health starts with the food we consume. Omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E are the best sources of nutrients required to maintain good eye health. This can be achieved by loading your plates with:

• Green leafy veggies like spinach and kale
• Citrus fruit and veggies rich in beta carotene such as oranges, pumpkin and papaya
• Fatty acid rich proteins such as eggs, nuts, beans
• Salmon, tuna and other oily fish

A well-balanced diet with these ingredients can help keep obesity and diabetes at bay, a leading cause of blindness in adults.

Keep Your Body Moving

Along with full-body workouts, it is essential to exercise the most active part of your body, your eyes. From the moment you wake up till you drift off to sleep at night, your eyes function non-stop. We are in an era where staring at your phones and computers has become an integral part of life, leading to eye strain and disorders. A few basic eye exercises on the go are:

• Eye flexing, which helps in stretching and strengthening the ocular muscles in the eye
• Slow blinking
• Focusing on an object close up, and then at a distance
• Tracing the path of the figure 8 with your eyes

Computer Glasses Are A Godsend

Pandemic or not, students and adults spend a considerable amount of time hunched over laptops, furiously typing away pages after pages of assignments. You might not even realize when you have started squinting at your computer screen with dry eyes and a headache, or trying to focus on that zoom call. Here, your knight in shining armor is a pair of computer glasses.

So, how do computer glasses help? They help relieve digital eye strain and also block/ filter blue light from your screen. For maximum comfort, the lenses of your computer glasses should include:

• Anti-reflective (AR) coating
• Lenses that offer a blue light filter
• Vision clarity

Check out our recommendation for the latest technology computer glasses with anti-reflective AR coating and blue light filter lens. Trending this season on runways is the Blue Block Phone & Computer Glasses Wayfarers, now available on Lenskart

Get The Lighting Right

When was the last time you stood out on the terrace on a hot day and stared at the sun for more than two seconds? Never, right? The reason is that the sun shines with such intensity that staring directly at it for just a few seconds can cause permanent retinal damage. The same goes with indoor lighting, blue light can damage your retina slowly over time as it has shorter wavelengths than warmer light, thus storing more energy. A damaged retina can develop cataracts or clouding of the lens, leading to hampered vision. Here are a few eye care tips that can help reduce strain:

• Switch to CFLs that emit warm light
• Try using the night light feature on the computer as much as possible
• Decrease your screen time and take frequent breaks

Outdoors Equals Sunglasses

While stepping out is risky during the Covid-19 pandemic, sometimes it is an absolute necessity to do so. In this scenario, duet your mask with a good pair of sunglasses. Choose your sunglasses not only to be aesthetically pleasing but functional too. Here are a few checkboxes to tick before you invest in a pair of sunglasses:

• Blocks 100% UV light
• Polarized lenses to reduce glare
• Enhances visual depth
• Has amber or brown lens to enhance contrast and help you see better

Sunglasses are no longer just a fashion statement, but a functional accessory. Our experts suggest Vincent Chase Polarised and UV protected Aviator sunglasses a style made famous by the likes of Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One’ and the statement Full Rim Wayfarer Sunglasses from John Jacobs which is not only stylish, but offers UV protection and power options.

Quit Smoking

Can’t find a good enough reason to quit smoking? The potential loss of vision will surely change your mind. The New York State Department of Health states that a smoker has up to three times higher risk of cataract in contrast with non-smokers. This is due to the strong link between smoking and high blood pressure, cataracts, and diabetes all of which are risk factors for glaucoma. Talk to your doctor/therapist on how to effectively quit smoking.

Give Your Eyes A Spa Day

Long working hours, a sedentary lifestyle, and lack of sleep can not only affect your eyesight but also make you look like a raccoon. Dark circles, bags under the eye are the early indicators of poor eye care. We have listed a few home remedies that you can try to ease the stress and give your eyes the love they deserve:

• For dark circles, place two pieces of cucumber over each eyelid to help cool and relax your eyes after a long day; in case you’ve run out of—or are allergic to—cucumbers, you can also use chilled cotton balls or tea bags as they serve the same purpose.
• Your sunken eyes can easily be fixed with a combination of a teaspoon of honey and half a teaspoon of almond oil; apply the mixture to your under-eye overnight and wash off in the morning.
• Last, but definitely not the least, stay hydrated, as dry eyes can also be caused due to dehydration.