The Health and beauty industries emphasize the importance of staying hydrated, for better health and skin. But it is not just the skin, even your eyes need to stay moistened. If eyes aren't properly lubricated, eye dryness and associated problems like burning, itching and redness comes in with time.
Though the eye being so delicate, a longevity organ, it doesn’t require very critical care to stay healthy. You need to carefully listen to what your eyes demand. Rest, healthy lifestyle, eye hydration, blinking and nutritional supplements keeps your eyes healthy and beautiful.
What is eye dryness?
We have discussed eye dryness in our article Tear Evaporation of the Eyes: Symptoms, Threats and Treatment , click here to read. In brief lets understand dry eye once again eye dryness is when the eyes don't generate optimal amounts of tears to keep themselves moist and hydrated. It can lead to occasional grittiness, burning, itching, irritation and redness. If not addressed on time, it may cause critical eye problems.
The question is, what causes eye dryness?
Let’s understand this bit scientifically, you have lacrimal and meibomian glands in the eye anatomy. These special eye glands create a tri-layered tear robust film made of solute proteins, electrolytes, antioxidants, and ascorbic acid that lay across the outer surface of the eye, nourishing the organ and maintaining its moisture. Regular consumption of adequate amounts of electrolyte minerals, antioxidants, and vitamin C makes it super easy for your eyes to function perfectly.
This film also provides a layer of protection against free radicals and other like dust, pollutants, and other foreign substances.
Researchers say that, Eye dryness causes oxidative stress as a common threat. Oxidative stress can impact all three layers in the tear film. Therefore, antioxidants like Vitamin C, E, Selenium must be consumed for better eye health along with other benefits. Lifezen’s Tuskca Multivitamin contains 27 essential vitamins including antioxidant vitamins for a complete health care.
Why eye hydration is more now than ever
Current time is hugely dependent on the digital system. It's increasing steadily. People from all age groups have become so dependent on digitalization for several valid reasons, at the same time a kind of addiction is seen among people. Social media plays a key role in this. Keeping your eyes hydrated is just as important as updating a work on a digital medium.
In this digitally busy world, blinking time is considerably reduced when using as a result your wide-open eyes are more prone to dryness and eye strain.
In a study, researchers found that smartphone usage can hinder the eye's tear film and cause more oxidative stress around the eye (published in PLOS ONE). Post pandemic the usage has been increased in double fold. People spend a minimum five to six hours on their phones, daily. The pandemic has further increased our 'screen time'.
Easy tips to promote healthy, hydrated eyes
To combat eye dryness, you need to actively promote healthy, hydrated eyes on a daily basis. Try these easy, actionable tips:
Take a hydrating eye health supplement
One of the easiest ways you can enhance your overall eye health is to add a comprehensive eye health supplement to your daily routine. Lifezen’s Tuskca Vitamin C blended with Zinc, a rich antioxidant or Tuskca Multivitamin, a vegan-friendly, sugar free formula to promote antioxidant density. Your eyes are going to get benefits like support visual sharpness, and help maintain healthy ocular blood flow, combat eye health.
Increase your omega-3 fatty acid intake
The ancient saying "you are what you eat" rings true here, the types of food you consume directly affect your eye health, and one of the most important nutrients to include in your diet is omega-3 fatty acids. Examples of foods rich in omega-3s include chia seeds and fatty fish like tuna and salmon etc.
According to a paper published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, the retina, specifically the membranes of the photoreceptors in the retina, is largely made up of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. However, because the human body does not produce omega-3s EPA and DHA efficiently, making sure we consume enough through diet and supplementation is critical.
Eye hydration
Another way to quench your eye's thirst is to simply drink more water. Even your eyes need water. But it's not enough, there are safe eye drops available as over-the-counter like EyeSpa relaxing eye drops, which can be used daily to moisten your eyes, and importantly helps dry eye problems. Precaution is always better than cure, regular use of this carboxymethylcellulose solution can prevent your eyes from dry eye problems.
Eye Blinking
Blinking eyes protects the eyes from debris, pollutants, the effects of air temperature, and some free radicals. To remind yourself to blink frequently, set an alarm on your phone or leave a Post-it note on your work desk. There are also smartphone apps that gently nudge an icon to remind you to blink every few seconds.
Break up your screen time
In a world where virtually everything is becoming, well, virtual—stepping away from the screen can feel almost impossible. You don't need to take a digital detox if you don't feel it's sustainable. You should, however, break up your screen time to give your eyes a break from blue light exposure and digital eye strain.
Do you know about the 20-20-20 rule, every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away from the screen for 20 seconds, You can also close your eyes tightly at first, and then relax them. Open and repeat the sequence four times as when you feel eyes are tired.
Eye dryness can be unpleasant. In some cases, it can even affect your visual performance and productivity hence don’t go careless with it.
Fortunately, making minor changes to your lifestyle can significantly improve your ocular health.Making smart changes to your work environment, making a conscious effort to blink more throughout the day, and incorporating a high-quality, holistic eye health supplement into your daily wellness and longevity routine are all excellent strategies.