The eyes are our most important sensory organ and a sensitive structure. They only stay sharp-eyed if you offer them variety, don’t overexert them and provide them with the right nutrients. Then aging can be delayed and vision preserved.
If you ask an eye expert how your eyes stay young, you will get a sobering answer: “It really isn’t possible. The aging of the eyes is built in.” That says Frank Schaeffel from the Research Institute for Ophthalmology at the University Hospital in Tübingen.
With age, the photoreceptor cells deteriorate and the lens becomes stiffer and cloudier. The result: presbyopia, “night blindness”, clouded vision. “It also happens to people who have always seen well. Everyone needs reading glasses at some point.”
Now save articles for later in “Pocket”.
However, there are a number of things we can do to ensure that our eyes are in good health, thereby delaying age-related vision problems and preventing eye diseases. This is what we are dealing with:
The notorious presbyopia becomes increasingly noticeable from the mid-40s. The previously flexible lens no longer deforms so easily. The switching of the eye to sharp vision in the near works less and less. When reading, the small print blurs, a sewing thread can no longer find its way through the eye of a needle.
The formerly crystal-clear lens becomes cloudy with age and turns yellowish. Proteins in the lens that clump together are to blame. This is responsible for sensitivity to glare, blurred vision in low light, and fading colors. The milky lens swallows a lot of light.
Light-sensitive photoreceptors gradually die off on the retina, which has poor blood circulation as we age. In addition, the pupil is getting smaller and the average retinal brightness in 60-year-olds is only a third of that in 20-year-olds. This is why older people often perceive dim lighting as pitch black.
More on the subject:
With increasing age, the internal pressure in the eyes often increases. This puts strain on the optic nerve and can damage it. High intraocular pressure is a common cause of glaucoma. This increasingly creates blind spots in the field of vision. Severe short-sightedness, diabetes and strong blood pressure fluctuations are considered risk factors.
In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), central areas of the retina are destroyed because the supply to the retina deteriorates and the waste products of the ocular metabolism that are constantly produced are no longer removed. Dying pigment cells or ingrowing blood vessels destroy central vision. Smoking is an important risk factor for AMD.
Smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes all affect eye health. This primarily damages the fine vessels that run through the eyes and supply the retina.
Staying outdoors and letting your gaze wander into the distance trains the eye muscles. In addition, the growth in length of the eye is inhibited. “More daylight can prevent short-sightedness,” says ophthalmologist Frank Schaeffel. On the other hand, you should avoid staring at screens for hours in close-up mode. In the long run, this overstrains the muscle, dries out the cornea and is usually associated with low brightness.
The eyes like daylight, but not the bright sun. As a result, visual cells can be lost in a short time, lens and retina are damaged. Sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection can prevent long-term damage.
More on the subject:
The eyes benefit lifelong from a diet rich in vitamins: Vitamin A from carrots or pumpkin is particularly helpful. It improves light and dark vision. The plant substance lutein from green leafy vegetables has an antioxidant effect on the retina. It strengthens the macula, i.e. the point of sharpest vision.
Olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids in fish can protect against the progression of retinal disease AMD if they are on the menu for a long time. A Mediterranean diet works particularly well in combination with daily exercise. “There is also current scientific evidence for this,” says Frank Schaeffel. “The European research project “Eye-Risk” with 60,000 participants in eight countries showed a clear chance of maintaining sight into old age despite a genetic risk profile.”
Relaxation for the eyes is particularly important in everyday school and office life. The tips from eye training programs, such as “palming” help here: close your eyes and place your palms loosely over them, hold for two minutes. Resting in the dark is like mini-sleep for the eyes to recover from visual stress.
Other exercises include moving the eyes behind closed lids in all directions, “accommodating”, i.e. alternately focusing on near and far points, or simply consciously blinking several times.
Scientists like Frank Schaeffel take a critical view of eye training: “It has not been proven that it has any effect.” The promise of making glasses superfluous with eye training cannot be fulfilled in any case. However, there is nothing to be said against short, regular relaxation exercises for stressed eyes.
Other users were also interested in this video:
