Expert advice on how to keep your eyes healthy

Looking after your eye health now could save you from problems with your eyesight later on. Try these simple fixes, from diet to wearing the right sunglasses

We watch our salt and fat intake to protect our hearts. We exercise and take calcium to protect our bones. We slather on sunscreen to protect our skin.

But what can we do to protect our eyes, all year round? A lot. We asked experts what lifestyle steps people should be taking to protect their vision and eye health.

“Protecting the eyes from ultraviolet light—sunlight—is very important,” says Dr Esen Akpek, an ophthalmology professor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

“It’s one of the biggest things in our environment to have an impact on the eyes. Ultraviolet light has been shown to have an effect on cataract development and macular degeneration.”

“Surprisingly, dark lenses aren’t necessarily the most protective”

To shield your eyes, wear sunglasses certified to block out 99 to 100 per cent of UVA and UVB light. Surprisingly, dark lenses aren’t necessarily the most protective.

“In fact, if the lenses are dark but not UV-protected, that’s worse for your eyes, because when you’re looking through dark lenses your pupils dilate, which lets more UV light inside to do damage,” says Akpek.

You don’t have to be doing construction work or factory work to need protective eyewear. Gardening, yardwork, home repairs and sports all pose the risk of trauma to the eye.

It’s estimated that up to 90 per cent of sports-related eye injuries are actually preventable with proper eye protection. Experts recommend wearing sports or safety glasses with polycarbonate lenses, which is a type of plastic that will not easily shatter or break.

“I see people who’ve been gardening, leaned forward and got poked in the eye by a branch,” says Dr Davinder Grover, an ophthalmologist at Glaucoma Associates of Texas. “And sometimes lawn mowers cause objects like stones to hit you in the eye.”

Blue light from phone screen and eye health

The idea that blue light harms your sight is actually a myth, but eye fatigue is very real

According to a 2022 review article published in the journal Heliyon, there’s no scientific evidence that the light from electronic screens damages eyes. But staring at a screen can leave eyes fatigued and may blur vision.

Experts suggest following the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a break and look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

“People tend to blink less when staring at computer screens”

One reason for eye fatigue during screen use is that people tend to blink less when staring at computer screens, and that can lead to dryness.

“One of the best ways to prevent that is hydration—drinking four or five glasses of water a day,” says Grover. “If you still feel your eyes are dry or getting tired, or your vision is occasionally blurred, use lubricating eye drops.”

Research shows that foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids are linked to lower risk for age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and maybe even dry eye.