Smartphone Safety for Better Sleep – Prevent Eye Damage and Eye Disease

eye disease smartphone before sleepSmartphones can damage the eyes and cause disturbed sleep. Therefore, Natural Eye Care has issued safety guidelines for smartphones. We have summarized research on how smartphone misuse could contribute to the onset of serious eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. Eye strain and discomfort from improper smartphone habits create unnecessary suffering. Night time smartphone use leads to poor sleep.

However, there is much you can do to prevent problems from smartphones. At the end of this article, you will find suggestions for how to use smartphones without damaging your eyes. Continue reading “Smartphone Safety for Better Sleep – Prevent Eye Damage and Eye Disease”

Why Lightbulb Choices Matter

lightbulbsEven though sunlight is free, we pay for electric lightbulbs. We enjoy access to light 24 hours a day, even lighting the outside at night. The miracle of electric lighting means more leisure and work time.

What effects do the different types of lightbulbs have on our eyes? On our health? Does the type of light in the evening affect our sleep cycles? We’re encouraged to use compact fluorescent and LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs, but are the long-effects of these new bulbs known, or can their effects be predicted?
Continue reading “Why Lightbulb Choices Matter”

Outdoor Activities Associated with Eye Disease

outdoor jobs and visionSunlight is critical for overall well-being.  Through an intricate process it enables the body to produce essential vitamin D.  We only need 20 minutes of sunlight a day.  But sunlight also contains UV radiation.

Unprotected over exposure to sunlight can eventually result in oxidative damage to the retina and other eye tissue such as the eye lens and sclera causing many eye problems as well as skin cancer. You can help protect your eyes by wearing 100% UVA/UVB protecting sunglasses when outside (particularly wraparound glasses with amber or brown lenses that are polarized to reduce glare). Continue reading “Outdoor Activities Associated with Eye Disease”

Outdoors Activity and Sunlight May Protect Against Myopia

sunlight and visionMyopia, or nearsightedness, is a common vision problem. Evidence is starting to show that sunlight has special properties beneficial to vision health. Specifically, exposure to sunshine reduces the risk of developing nearsightedness at all ages. The quality of artificial light and nutrition also play roles. The world’s most natural remedy is sunlight. Find out how much you need to stay healthy. Continue reading “Outdoors Activity and Sunlight May Protect Against Myopia”

From Farm to Table: Growing Your Own – Part III

gardeningGrowing your own is the very best option.  From the garden straight to the salad or the pan is the finest choice for flavor, nutrition, and satisfaction!  You may not have garden space or the inclination to garden, but you can accomplish a surprising amount in less space than you thought possible.  Don’t skip the essentials, below.

Micro-gardens

Micro gardens are designed for small urban spaces and are designed to be extremely productive, sustainable, affordable, Continue reading “From Farm to Table: Growing Your Own – Part III”

Can LED Lights Damage the Eyes or Disrupt Sleep?

LED lightsLED light bulbs are becoming very popular, but what is their effect on the eyes? Light Emitting Diode lighting uses up to 95% less energy than their incandescent counterparts. Before replacing your home or workplace’s indoor lights with LEDs, consider two downsides:

  • LEDs do not give off near-infrared radiation, which is necessary for health
  • They emit large amounts of blue light, which disrupts sleeping patterns and over time can contribute to eye disease.

One of the benefits of LED lights is that they are Continue reading “Can LED Lights Damage the Eyes or Disrupt Sleep?”

Computers & Your Eyes III: Smartphones – Are You Addicted?

smartphone addictionAmericans spend about 1/3 of their waking hours on smartphones; young Americans spend even more.  Research finds that we spend almost twice as much time as we think we do and more than half of that time is in short bursts of less than 30 seconds.

Why is that a problem?

Research has found that such use can damage productivity, memory, attention-span, thinking outside the box, and increase cognitive errors, anxiety and stress levels, and impair the quality of sleep. Not only that, but the blue light emitted by computers and mobile devices damages the rods and cones and the pigmented layer of the retina and is associated with eye cancer. Blue light is especially damaging in low-light conditions and in the not yet fully developed retinas of children under age nine. Continue reading “Computers & Your Eyes III: Smartphones – Are You Addicted?”

Computers & Your Eyes Part I: Computer Vision Syndrome

computer-eye-syndromeElectronics have become primary obsessions in our personal and work lives. This has lead to nearly everyone becoming susceptible to Computer Vision Syndrome. Symptoms include dry eyes, eye strain, blurred vision, headaches, double vision, difficulty in concentrating, fatigue and/or and head, neck and shoulder pain.

Additionally, heavy computer use has been associated with glaucoma[1. https://www.naturaleyecare.com/articles/glaucoma-and-heavy-computer-use.asp] Electronics screens emit blue light that can damage the retina, leading to macular degeneration.[2. Do blue light filters confer protection against age-related macular degeneration? by Margrain TH et. al. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2004 Sep;23(5):523-31. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15302349] Close-up work is associated with myopia (nearsightedness).[3. “Risk factors for myopia in a discordant monozygotic twin study.” Ramessur R, Williams KM, Hammond CJ. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2015 Sep 17. doi: 10.1111/opo.12246. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26376775] Continue reading “Computers & Your Eyes Part I: Computer Vision Syndrome”

Wi-Fi, Cellphones & EMF Pollution

emf phoneExposure to electromagnetic fields has been considered a potential contributor or cause to many chronic illnesses for about 20 years.  What is becoming more apparent is that EMF pollution when combined with toxins and poor diet makes chronic disease more likely.

  • Toxins are found in foods, the environment, and prescription drugs.
  • Poor diet (standard western diet) is comprised of mostly carbohydrates, too much sugar, too much fat, and foods contaminated by pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

It has been difficult to do any properly Continue reading “Wi-Fi, Cellphones & EMF Pollution”

Your Eye: 9 Surprising Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

 

1. Your Eyes Hold Facts About Your Health

Image via Flickr by Mikleman
Image via Flickr by Mikleman

When ophthalmologists look at your eyes, they can see more than you’d anticipate. Not only are they able to see the health of your eyes, but they can see if you have other health issues including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and even multiple sclerosis and lupus. A thin white or grey ring around the eye, called a corneal arcus, is one indicator of high cholesterol? in younger patients.

2. Your Eyes Heal Quickly

Eyes are such an important part of the human body that they actually can heal better than most of the rest of your body. They are the second most active part of our body next to the brain and therefore especially require  healthy circulation for oxygen and nutrition and the ability to eliminate waste. It is the eyes’ ability to draw what is needed from other parts of the body that supports rapid healing. For example, a scratch on the cornea can heal in just two or three days, whereas a scratch on your skin is going to take much longer to fully heal.

Continue reading “Your Eye: 9 Surprising Facts You Probably Didn’t Know”