6 Natural Ways to Improve Your Vision & Eye Health
"The eyes have one language everywhere."
—George Herbert
Gazing at the world with blurred edges or struggling to read the grocery list without squinting? You're not alone. Around 2.2 billion people globally have vision impairments, and this number is projected to soar to 5.5 billion by 2050.
While glasses and contacts offer solutions, many yearn for ways to naturally enhance their vision and prevent future decline. Fortunately, the human eye holds its own secret garden of potential, waiting to be nurtured with simple lifestyle tweaks and dietary choices.
This article delves into the fascinating realm of natural vision improvement, offering practical tips and scientifically backed strategies to help you see the world in sharper focus, without relying solely on corrective lenses. Let’s see what they are.
Natural Ways To Improve Vision
1. Manage Blood Sugar Levels
Diabetes is a condition that can significantly impact eye health. High blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) can damage the small blood vessels in the eyes, leading to conditions like diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. There are four stages of diabetic retinopathy and most people don't even show symptoms until the fourth and final stage. Blurry vision can also be a first sign of diabetes so let your doctor know if this is occurring and get your annual checkup.
Even in those who are not diabetic, or even pre-diabetic, having blood sugar levels that are excessively high for too long or are on a roller coaster throughout the day can lead to impaired vision. This is because elevated blood sugar levels lead to the formation of Advanced Glycation End Products, impacting the microvasculature of the eye. This leads to structural changes, microvascular damage, and impaired blood flow. The resultant neurodegeneration, chronic inflammation, and activation of the polyol pathway further contribute to vision impairment.
To protect your vision:
Hit the minimum effective dose of exercise (lifting, walking, HIIT, and Zone 2).
Limit ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and excessive carbohydrates.
Go for a walk after meals which can lower your post-prandial (after-eating) blood sugar spikes.
Consider purchasing a continuous glucose monitor to track your real-time blood sugar.
2. Spend Time Outdoors
Spending time outdoors is not only beneficial for your overall well-being but also for your eyes. Research suggests that exposure to natural light, especially outdoor light, can help reduce the risk of myopia (nearsightedness), especially in children.
A 2020 study involving more than 10,000 children aged 9 to 11 found that those spending more time outside during recess were 22 percent less likely to develop myopia.
Experts suggest that the benefits of outdoor time may stem from the diverse light wavelengths available, the varied distances of objects for the eyes to focus on, and the stimulation of dopamine production in the retina, potentially preventing eye deformation.
Here's how you can incorporate more outdoor time into your life:
Take work calls outside on walks.
At the very least, position your work area by a window.
Establish a habit of getting outside each morning or each evening with your kids.
Consider outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or rucking.
3. Incorporate Eye-Supporting Nutrients Into Your Diet
Nutrition plays a vital role in eye health. Here are some eye-friendly foods to consider incorporating into your diet to support your vision:
Dark leafy greens like kale and spinach are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that help protect the eyes. Read more about the benefits of plants here.
Colorful fruits and vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, crucial for maintaining good vision.
Fatty fish like salmon and trout are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which may help prevent dry eye syndrome. Read about the best types of fish to eat here.
Eggs provide lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as essential amino acids. Read about the best eggs to buy here.
Consider a supplement. My favorite is Performance Lab’s vision one which includes science-backed ingredients to help your vision such as freeze-dried blackcurrant, blackcurrant extract, bilberry extract, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, and saffron.
4. Quit Smoking
Stopping smoking is one of the most important things you can control to prevent vision impairments.
The toxic components in cigarette smoke contribute to oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction in the blood vessels of the eye, leading to impaired blood flow to the macula and the formation of drusen, fatty deposits beneath the retina. Smoking is not only a recognized risk factor for the development and worsening of cataracts, contributing to the clouding of the eye's lens and visual impairment through the heat-induced breakdown of lens proteins and exposure to free radicals, but it also amplifies the risk of diabetic retinopathy in individuals with diabetes, exacerbating microvascular damage in the retina and increasing the likelihood of severe vision loss.
Do this: stop smoking.
5. Don't Follow the 20-20-20 Rule
The 20-20-20 rule involves taking a 20-second break to focus on an object 20 feet away every 20 minutes during extended screen use. This systematic approach allows for periodic relaxation of the eyes and seems logical, however, when put to the test in a study on 30 people engaged in a 40-minute tablet reading task, the results revealed a significant increase in post-task symptoms, but no notable impact of scheduled breaks on reported symptoms, reading speed, or task accuracy.
In other words, using the 20-20-20 rule to reduce digital eye strain probably doesn’t work.
This is not so surprising given that it takes around 90 seconds for your eyes to recover after a mere 3-minute near-vision task when it comes to two critical eye movements: accommodation and vergence. But just because the 20-20-20 rule doesn't have any evidence behind it, doesn't mean that taking breaks is not helpful. Instead, the researchers suggest, "it seems likely that longer break durations or a different frequency of breaks may be required to produce significant effects."
The logical step would then be to increase the frequency and duration of the rest breaks so that you're looking in the distance for a minute or two every 5-10 minutes but not only is this time-consuming, it's difficult to establish this type of habit. Instead, consider the following and modify it based on your situation. Remember, any breaks are better than no breaks.
Do this:
Use a Pomodoro timer (or this site) to fit in 25 minutes of work with a 5-minute rest break. During this 5-minute rest, do something away from your screen: go for a 5-minute walk or do a strengthening circuit (alternating 20 reps of pushups, squats, hip hinges, as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in 5 minutes).
If this isn't feasible then consider these other options:
Play with the frequency and duration for what works with your schedule and productivity. Three minutes every 40 minutes? Six minutes every hour? Sure, anything is better than nothing.
Improve your blood circulation by working out while you work. Consider a walking desk or a desk bike like I use.
Use the environment. Find ways to get away from your screen. Keep your phone on another floor or in a different room. Take the steps to a further bathroom. Take calls on a walk.
6. Consider Blue Light Blockers
Blue light blockers are all the rage, claiming to cure everything from insomnia to marital fights but the truth is, there’s not much science behind them.
While the occasional study pops up stating that they’re beneficial, a 2023 systematic review of evaluating 17 randomized controlled trials put this all to rest. This study suggests that blue-light filtering lenses may not significantly alleviate symptoms of eye strain during computer use over a short-term follow-up compared to non-blue-light filtering lenses. Additionally, they found little or no effect on critical flicker-fusion frequency (CFF), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and uncertain effects on daytime alertness and sleep quality.
But just because the research doesn’t support them, doesn’t mean they don’t work. There are plenty of advocates out there touting anecdotal benefits, myself included.
While, I personally haven't noticed significant improvements in sleep quality, aligning with the limited research on short-term effects, I adopt a Pascal’s wager approach—reasoning that if there's even some potential benefit, I'll continue wearing them given the minimal downside.
In terms of addressing eye strain during computer use, I've noticed a tangible difference when I wear blue light blockers at the first signs of strain. When I put them on, my eye strain goes away. While the research doesn’t support them for short-term issues, the jury on long-term eye health is still out so I’m hedging my bets.
Do this:
If you’re going to try blue light blockers, go with high-quality ones (no surprise that there are a ton of knock-offs out there).
Best tinted ones: Essential Living or Spectra479 (the best on the market, blocking 99.82% of blue light)
Best clear ones: Felix Grey
Beyond blue light-blocking glasses, modify the light in your house. Read this in-depth article on how to optimize the light in your home for both productivity and relaxation.
Takeaway
Manage Blood Sugar Levels: High blood sugar damages eye blood vessels. Whether diabetic or not, control levels through exercise, a balanced diet, and post-meal walks.
Spend Time Outdoors: Natural light, especially outdoors, reduces myopia risk. Embrace outdoor activities and optimize your workspace near windows for eye health.
Incorporate Eye-Supporting Nutrients: Enhance vision with nutrient-rich foods like leafy greens, colorful fruits, fatty fish, and supplements like Performance Lab's Vision.
Quit Smoking: Smoking harms blood vessels, contributing to eye issues. Quitting is crucial for preventing oxidative stress, inflammation, and cataracts.
Avoid the 20-20-20 Rule: Breaks every 20 minutes may not reduce eye strain. Opt for a Pomodoro technique, incorporating short breaks and improving blood circulation.
Consider Blue Light Blockers: Despite mixed research, some notice benefits. High-quality blockers like Essential Living or Spectra479 may alleviate eye strain during computer use.
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