Back to School Feature: Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

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Back to School Feature: Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

It’s that time of year again. Fall is in the air and classrooms are filling with students. If you’re heading back to college, it’s an exciting time in your life. But it’s also when good habits are easy to forget. Late night study sessions, long hours in front of a computer and lack of sleep can take their toll on your eyes.

Here are some tips to keep your eyes healthy while you’re hitting the books:

Be kind to your eyes. Get regular check-ups for your eyes, just like you do for the rest of your body. Eye doctors can often spot underlying health issues you may not be aware of.

Don’t smoke. Did you know that smokers are four times more likely than non-smokers to develop macular degeneration? It’s a progressive disease that can lead to lead to vision loss.

Get enough sleep. Not only will lack of sleep give you dark circles under your eyes, it can cause dryness, irritability, even blurred vision. Too many late nights could possibly have a long-term toll on your eye health too.

Avoid eyestrain. Computers and college go hand in hand but try to limit hours of staring at a computer screen. Frequently look up and away, get up and move around. Take a break.

Eat well. It’s easy to give in to pizza and boxed dinners but keeping your eyes healthy starts with the food you eat. Make sure you get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and vitamins C and E to help keep your eyes on their A game. Green leafy vegetables, salmon, and citrus fruits are great sources of pro-eye nutrients.