You rely on your vision every single day. Your eyes experience a substantial amount of strain, so it is vital to ensure that you give them breaks when necessary and prevent any damage from escalating. This is a process that is growing in importance, as more and more jobs require employees to spend a substantial amount of time staring at digital screens. There are multiple steps that you can take to protect your eyes and your vision. Here are a few eye
exercises that can help you to keep your eyes in good condition.

The Benefits of Eye Exercises

With the growing popularity of technology, many people are required to stare at a computer screen all day for work. This can cause incredible amounts of strain to your eyes, which can result in a multitude of problems. Eye exercises can help to protect your eyes and minimize the amount of strain placed on them. This can help to prevent your eyes from drying out, and can also help you to eliminate headaches. If you are experiencing regular headaches, it is very likely that your eyes are experiencing substantial amounts of strain. Implementing effective eye exercises every day can go a long way toward preventing damage from occurring to your eyes, as well as keep you far more comfortable over time.

Palming

Palming helps your eyes in two different ways and can be an incredibly effective exercise for your eyes. This process involves rubbing your hands together vigorously to heat up your palms. Once they are warm, you should place them over your eyelids. Refrain from pressing down too hard on your eyes. You should not experience discomfort with the pressure on your eyes. This helps to give your eyes a break and the heat also helps to relax the muscles in your eyes. Heat is an especially effective method for enhancing relaxation and preventing strain from occurring to your eyes. They also give your eyes a break, as they will be closed while your palms transfer heat to the eyes.

Near and Far Focus

Near and far focus is an eye exercise that is exactly what it sounds like. You focus on something near and then you focus on something far away to help exercise and stretch your eyes. Hold your thumb roughly 10 inches away from your eyes. Focus on your thumb for around 15 seconds. Then, locate an object that is approximately 10 to 20 feet away from you. Shift the focus from your thumb to this object for another 15 seconds. After this, focus back on your thumb. Repeat the process about 5 times to ensure that your eyes are effectively exercised.

The 20-20-20 Rule

Your eyes aren’t intended to stare at a digital screen for hours on end. This is one of the major reasons why eye strain is so incredibly common. To reduce the likelihood of strain to your eyes, you should follow the 20-20-20 rule. This rule encourages you to shift your focus away from your screen every 20 minutes, as extended time staring at a screen is a leading contributor of strain. Focus on a point 20 feet away for 20 seconds at a time. Effectively following this rule can go a long way toward minimizing eye strain and preventing damage from occurring to your eyes.

Blinking

Blinking is an automatic function for a reason. It helps to keep your eyes moisturized and helps to prevent excessive dryness. This is especially important when you wear contact lenses, as dried out lenses can become uncomfortable and cause scratching and other damage to your eyes. Unfortunately, many people don’t blink as often as they should when they are staring at a digital device. Periodically, you should take a break from staring at the screen and focus on blinking. Set a timer for 2 minutes. During this period of 2 minutes, you should blink every 4 seconds to moisturize and reinvigorate your eyes. Do this several times to prevent eye strain.

Figure 8

The figure 8 eye exercise is rather simple to complete and can be an effective eye exercise. Focus on a point approximately 10 feet away from your eyes. Picture a large number 8 and then imagine it turned on its side, forming a figure 8 or infinity symbol. Trace this figure 8 with your eyes for around 2 minutes. After this, trace the figure 8 in reverse for an additional 2 minutes. This can help to stretch your eyes and prevent them from becoming strained with overuse. Doing the figure 8 exercise regularly is a great way to reduce the likelihood of damage occurring to your eyes, which substantially helps to protect your vision and improve your comfort.

Other Ways to Protect your Eyes

Though eye exercises have been shown to help minimize the likelihood of eye strain, few studies have shown that these exercises actually improve your vision. It is important to implement all of the steps necessary to protect the health of your eyes. You should obtain eye exams on a regular basis to ensure that any possible issues are discovered early on. You should also ensure that you wear sunglasses when you are outside to prevent damage from exposure to UV rays. Eating healthily can help to keep your eyes similarly healthy. Finally, it is important to follow the instructions of your optometrist and wear contacts or glasses as prescribed. Contrary to popular belief, prescription corrective methods won’t hurt your vision or make it worse.

Here at Wolcott Optical, we strive to provide all of the services necessary to protect the health of your eyes and ensure that you are able to see clearly. We carry a large selection of glasses with various frames, along with sunglasses. We are able to provide eye exams and other services to enhance the health of your eyes. To learn more about the many services that we offer, as well as how they can improve your vision, contact our experts today!

Many people are aware of the importance of wearing sunglasses during the summer to protect their vision. Fewer people, however, understand the impact that cold winter weather has on your eyes. There are multiple steps that you should take in order to protect your eyes throughout the cold months to keep them in the best possible condition. You rely on your vision daily to go about your life, so it is vital to take appropriate care of your eyes to keep them in optimal health, as well as ensure that you are able to see clearly throughout the winter.

Common Problems with Eyes in the Winter

There are many issues that can impact eyes during the winter months. One of the most common issues is dry eyes. Ultimately, warmer air has a higher capacity for holding moisture than cold air. When the air becomes cooler, it is less capable of holding moisture and, therefore, becomes dried out. This can cause both your skin and your eyes to dry out. Alternatively, watery eyes may become an issue in the cold winter months. This is often caused by the same issue. The dry air can cause eyes to overcompensate, providing tears to keep your eyes moisturized. Snow blindness is another common concern during the winter. UV rays reflect off of the snow, which can make it difficult to see on a sunny day. Wearing the appropriate gear can help to offset the problems consistent with snow blindness.

Use a Humidifier

The air in your home is likely to become much drier throughout the winter months. Adding a humidifier to your building can help to add more moisture into the air of your building. This will prevent the consistent dry air from drying out your eyes, keeping you much more comfortable throughout the winter. This can also be especially beneficial to your skin, which can also dry out excessively when the temperatures drop.

Point Heater Vents Away

The air from the heater of your car is often incredibly dry. Despite the higher temperatures, the heated air simply doesn’t have the opportunity to build up humidity. It is important to take care when you use the heater vents of your car. Refrain from having your heater vents pointed directly to your face to protect your eyes from the hot, dry air. This can go a long way toward preventing the eyes from drying out.

Eye Drops

As previously stated, dry eyes are one of the most common issues with the eyes during the winter. Keeping eye drops with you consistently can help to ensure that you can moisturize your eyes whenever the need arises.

Proper Sports Protection

There are multiple sports in the winter that require the use of protective equipment over the eyes. For one thing, snowboarding and skiing can result in significant amounts of possible debris that can damage your eyes. It is important to wear goggles whenever you engage in these activities. Many winter activities deal in exposure to snow and sunlight, which makes it important to use sunglasses.

Sunglasses

Most people wear sunglasses frequently in the summer months, but less often during the winter. However, it is vital to wear sunglasses in the winter, as well. In fact, snow reflects UV rays at a higher rate than even water, which can be incredibly detrimental to your vision. It is important to wear sunglasses in the winter to protect your eyes from UV rays caused by reflecting sunlight. There are many options available for sunglasses to ensure that you can obtain everything you need to protect your vision, no matter what the conditions outside are.

Consider Glasses Over Contacts

Your eyes will likely stay much drier in the winter months, which can make wearing contacts incredibly uncomfortable. In addition, dried out contacts can make it more difficult to see. Wearing glasses more often than contacts in the winter months can help to keep you more comfortable and allow you to see more clearly. However, you may want to ensure that your glasses have UV-ray protecting qualities.

Wear a Hat

A wide-brimmed hat can go a long way toward providing shade and protecting your eyes from the UV rays that reflect frequently from the sun. In addition, it is still important to wear sunscreen to protect your skin during winter, due to the extra reflection caused by snow.

Practice Good Hygiene

Pink eye is generally more common during the winter than other times of the year. This increases the importance of practicing good hygiene during this time. Make sure that you wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes. This can prevent you from all of the negative effects that come from pink eye and other diseases of the eyes.

Visit your Optometrist

Seeing your optometrist regularly is an important component of keeping your eyes healthy. They will be able to find potential issues with the eyes in the early stages, which will make it much easier to treat them and protect your vision. If you are ever concerned regarding the health of your eyes, you should contact us and schedule an appointment for a thorough, effective eye exam.

Stay Hydrated

Many people drink less water during the winter months. However, this, in combination with the dry air, can lead to both the skin and the eyes becoming incredibly dried out. It is extremely important to ensure that you drink enough water and keep yourself hydrated during the winter. This will help to keep your eyes more moisturized, which can protect them from sustaining damage and keeping you far more comfortable.

Here at Wolcott’s Optical, we care about protecting the health of your eyes and ensuring that you are able to see clearly year round. We offer a large selection of glasses and sunglasses to provide you with the devices you need to be able to see clearly. Our expert team can help ensure that you are happy and able to optimize your vision. To learn more about how to keep your eyes healthy throughout the cold, dry winter months, contact us today!

Obtaining regular eye exams can go a long way toward protecting the health and functionality of your eyes. When you fail to appropriately care for your eyes, many issues can occur. Regular eye exams will ensure that your eye doctor can find issues with your eyes in the early stages, which will help to protect your vision and reduce the likelihood of issues. Here at Wolcott’s Optical, we care about the overall health of your eyes. For this reason, we provide superior services and tools to ensure that your eyes remain in the best possible condition and you are able to see clearly. It is especially important to procure regular eye exams to protect the health of your eyes.

How often Should you have your Eyes Examined?

There is not a specific frequency for obtaining your eye exams. The amount of time you should take between eye exams will depend on the condition of your eyes, as well as your age. It is vital to always listen to the advice of your optometrist, as they are aware of the health of your eyes and how to maximize the effectiveness of your eye exams. In most cases, those with eye problems should obtain an eye exam on an annual basis, though your eye doctor may recommend more frequent or less frequent visits. Younger individuals with healthy eyes may go an average of 5 years between obtaining their exams, while exams should be obtained more often as the individual ages. Even if you have never experienced any issues with your eyes, it is still important to have your eyes examined regularly.

The Importance of your Eyes

Your eyes are incredibly important parts of your body. Most individuals fail to realize how much they rely on their vision until they have an issue with their eyesight. However, your vision performs many vital functions. It allows individuals to connect with their surroundings and do a great deal to keep them safe. Seeing clearly allows individuals to perceive movement, which can help to detect potential causes of danger. Eyes are vital for driving and undergoing many regular processes. In addition, many young children have difficulty learning when their eyesight is less than ideal, especially considering the fact that the vast majority of education techniques are visually oriented. Unfortunately, children are often unaware that their vision is suffering, as they don’t know any differently.

Why you Need Regular Eye Exams

Regular eye exams are important to maintain the health of your eyes, even if you have never experienced any problems with your eyes previously. For individuals that wear glasses or contacts, regular eye exams can help to keep your prescriptions current, which will allow you to continue to see clearly. Visiting your eye doctor on a regular basis can help them to find early signs of eye disease, which is the point at which they will be more likely to be repaired. Children with eye concerns may perform poorly at school due to issues with their vision. Corrective treatment is often most effective in the early stages. Regular eye exams can go a long way toward helping with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, along with many other problems that can impact the eyes.

Regular eye exams can help you to keep your mind sharp, as it will allow you to read effectively, as well as perceive the environment around you. It is vital to remember that vision screening processes are not an effective substitute for eye exams. These procedures are generally only effective at locating incredibly obvious issues, but don’t necessarily help to pinpoint more subtle vision concerns. In addition, eyes tend to weaken with age, so it will be important to obtain more frequent eye exams as you get older.  

Protecting the Health of your Eyes

Though eyes perform such a vital function in your life, they are also particularly vulnerable to damage. It is important to take steps to protect your eyes and maintain the health of your eyes. Whenever you participate in activities with the potential of flying debris, it is vital to wear protective gear to prevent trauma to your eyes. For example, the appropriate gear should be worn whenever you are working with wood or landscaping. UV rays can also cause damage to the eyes. Protecting your eyes from UV rays can be done by wearing effective, UV reflecting sunglasses to minimize exposure to your eyes. Though many people wear sunglasses on sunny days, overcast and cloudy days may still damage your eyes. Wearing hats with a brim can also help to protect your eyes. Ensure that you never stare directly into the sun.

Eye strain is another common culprit of damage to the eyes. When you work on the computer regularly, it is important to take breaks to allow your eyes to rest. Ensure that you obtain good lighting, particularly when reading or doing something else that may strain your eyes. Blink often to keep your eyes moisturized and always remember to use the appropriate eyewear, especially if you have a prescription. Protecting your overall health can similarly help to protect your eyes. This can include factors like eating healthily, exercising regularly, and quitting smoking. Wash your hands whenever you handle your contact lenses or place your hands near your eyes. Replace contact lenses regularly and ensure that they are disinfected. Obtaining regular eye exams and wearing goggles while swimming can similarly help to protect the health of your eyes.

Come See us for your Eye Exam

You rely on your vision to complete many of your regular tasks. Through our services, you can protect the health of your eyes and ensure that you are able to see clearly and comfortably. To learn more about the importance of obtaining regular eye exams, contact our experts at Wolcott’s Optical. Not only are regular eye exams important, but it is similarly important to ensure that you obtain the appropriate vision-correcting tools, such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. Don’t wear eyeglasses that aren’t prescribed to you.