You may have read about eye exercises that can help reduce the need for eyeglasses, but did you know that you can protect your eyesight with exercise that involves the whole body? For instance, type 2 diabetes affects the entire body, including vision. One way to help control it is with healthy eating, but when you combine that with exercise, you get the best results. It causes diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause for blindness for diabetics and for working age people. You also get other vision saving benefits from exercise, even if you aren’t diabetic.
You can reduce the risk of glaucoma with exercise.
A large study from the University of California that followed people for many years showed that exercising on a regular basis could help prevent glaucoma. The exercise affected the flow of blood to the eyes and the pressure in the eyes. Using devises to measure activity, such as number of steps and walking speed, they found that people who had the most moderate to vigorous activity lowered their risk for glaucoma by 73%. The key was more than just exercising, although that did lower the risk, but it improved even further when the exercise was more vigorous.
A study from Stockholm, Sweden showed that exercise reduced the risk of cataracts.
Our findings indicate that high total physical activity, especially in the long term, and such specific types of physical activity as walking or bicycling and work or occupational activity, may be associated with decreased risk of age-related cataract. Conversely, high inactivity levels may be associated with increased risk of cataract. A large twelve year study showed that high physical activity, particularly over the long term, such as walking, bicycling or work related activities could reduce the risk of cataracts by 13%. If you work in a sedentary job, you need to get more physical on your time off of work.
Wet Macular degeneration also was lower for those who exercised.
AMD, age-related macular degeneration, was also found to be responsive to exercise. A 15-year study in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin that included approximately 4,000 older individuals showed that those who exercised at least three times a week were better protected from the condition. Those who walked the most or exercised the most had the lowest incidence of AMD. The more exercise they got, the lower the risk became.
- To protect your eyes, make exercise a top priority. It’s never too late to begin.
- Spend less time at your computer. While you could be doing exercise, the reason is for more than just taking time to do that. The computer emits blue light, which also can cause damage to the eyes over time. Wearing protective sunglasses outside also helps.
- Eat healthier. Shedding pounds not only makes you feel better, it can also help prevent diabetes, which is ruthless when it comes to damaging your eyes.
- See your doctor and Opthamologist on a regular basis. Finding eye conditions before they become out of control or do major damage can prevent unnecessary blindness.