EnSight Vision - Target Lubbock

The Impact of Artificial Light
For most of human history, the only source of blue light on Earth was the sun. Our bodies react to it. We feel more attentive, react faster, remember things better, and feel better overall during the day. When the sun goes down, it signals our bodies that it’s time to sleep. Biologically, we aren’t used to the concept of artificial light, which can be a problem when there’s so much of it around us.

When we use our phones or computers right before bed, we’re beaming subconscious signals to our brains that it’s not time to sleep yet, no matter how late it is. Our brains respond by suppressing the release of melatonin, an important neurotransmitter that helps us sleep. The result is that it takes us longer to fall asleep than it would otherwise and lowers our overall quality of sleep, which feeds into all the negative health effects of sleep deprivation.

A great way to avoid all these sleep issues is to simply put our devices away in the hour before we go to sleep. In cases where that isn’t possible, use the night mode function to cut out the blue light.

Why do we blink our eyes?
With every blink, our eyelids spread fresh layers of tears across the surface of our eyes. It keeps them from drying out and brushes away tiny irritants like dust and dirt that might interfere with our vision. When we have excess tears, they drain out through the tear ducts (those tiny little holes at the corners of our eyes) into our nasal passages. That’s actually why our noses tend to run when we cry.
Focusing Hard? You Might Be Blinking Less.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re concentrating hard on something like a book, show, game, or project, you’re not blinking as much as usual? You’re not imagining things; while focusing, we tend to blink as few as three times per minute — much less frequently than the healthy rate our eyes rely on to operate most effectively. The longer we go without blinking often, the more it can compound into problems like dry eye and eye strain.

Train Yourself to Blink More
If infrequent blinking is leading to eye trouble for you, especially when doing activities that require intense concentration, making a conscious effort to blink more could help. Work on making it a habit to close your eyes when thinking or performing tasks you don’t need your vision for. Setting reminders to do a few blinking exercises each hour can help, and before long, the reminders won’t be necessary.

One good exercise we can do to keep our eyes feeling fresh is to close them, pause for a moment, squeeze our eyelids, and then open our eyes again.
Happy Blinking!

What are the best foods for healthy eyes?
Oranges and Sweet Potatoes
We need antioxidants like vitamins C and E to stay healthy. For eye health, vitamin C lowers the risk of developing cataracts and may slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We can get plenty of vitamin C by eating citrus fruit like oranges, grapefruits, and lemons. We need vitamin E to protect our eyes from “free radicals” (molecules that disrupt healthy tissue), and sweet potatoes and nuts are great sources of vitamin E.

Leafy Greens and Eggs
Studies have shown that getting plenty of the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin correlates with a lowered risk of chronic eye diseases like cataracts and AMD. Eggs and leafy greens are the best sources of these nutrients.

Fish and Oysters
We need plenty of omega-3 fatty acids for good brain function and a healthy immune system, and research shows that they also help with visual development and retinal function. There’s no better source of omega-3 fatty acids than fish.
Oysters, meanwhile, are a great source of zinc. Zinc acts as a vehicle that gets vitamin A from our livers to our retinas. A vitamin A-rich diet is useless if there isn’t any zinc to go with it. If you aren’t a fan of oysters, there are smaller amounts of zinc in nuts, beans, and meat.
Being Proactive About Eye Health Means More Than Nutrition

No matter how many great nutrients we consume for the sake of good eye health, eating right is no substitute for regular eye exams. Eye problems can happen for a variety of reasons unrelated to poor nutrition, and that’s where the optometrist comes in. We can detect problems in the early stages and begin treatment or intervention.

We love helping our parents maintain good eye health for life!