Would you like to switch to the accessible version of this site?

Go to accessible site Close modal window

Don't need the accessible version of this site?

Hide the accessibility button Close modal window
Accessibility View Close toolbar
VH

Our Location

(707) 206-0290

Open mobile navigation
  • Home
  • New Patient Center
    • Online Forms
    • Insurance and Payments
  • About Us
    • Meet the Optometrist
  • Eyecare Services
    • Contact Lens Exams
    • Eye and Vision Exams
    • Lasik Eye Surgery
    • Hard to Fit Contacts
    • Computer Vision Treatment
    • Sports Vision
    • Sunglasses
  • Frames
    • Designer Frames
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
    • Appointment Request
  • Community Content
  • Home >
  • Articles >
  • Newsletters >
  • How an Active Lifestyle Benefits Your Eye Health

How an Active Lifestyle Benefits Your Eye Health

  • Created in Newsletters

Young woman exercising

An Active Lifestyle Can Help You Protect Your Eyes

Staying active helps you maintain your weight, keeps your heart healthy, strengthens your bones, and may even help you lower your risk of several serious eye diseases. No matter what your age, increasing your activity level offers a simple way to safeguard your eye health.

The Eye-Health Benefits of an Active Lifestyle

Couch potatoes are at increased risk for many health problems, including conditions that can damage vision. The more you move, the less likely you'll develop glaucoma, macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy.

Reducing Your Risk of Glaucoma with Exercise

Glaucoma occurs when the pressure inside your eyes increases. If the pressure remains high, your optic nerve may be damaged. The optic nerve provides a crucial pathway between the eyes and the brain. Damage to the nerves prevents electrical impulses from the eyes from reaching the brain, causing loss of vision.

Aerobic exercise offers a natural way to lower the pressure inside your eyes and improve blood flow to the optic nerves and retinas. Walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing, and other types of exercise that raise your heart rate qualify as aerobic exercise. You don't need to schedule long workouts to enjoy the benefits of exercise. Walking briskly for 20 minutes at least four times a week can help protect your eyes, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

Worried About Macular Degeneration? Increasing Our Activity Level Can Help

The same types of exercise that lower your glaucoma risk can also reduce your risk of developing the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Wet AMD occurs when new, abnormal blood vessels begin to grow in the macula, the center part of the retina. The retina is a layer of light-sensing cells at the back of your eye. These vessels can leak fluids or blood and cause blurred vision or blind spots in the central part of your vision.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine discovered that regular exercise reduced the overgrowth of blood vessels by up to 45% in mice. Staying active could have the same effect on people too.

Moving More May Also Help You Avoid Retinopathy

Retinopathy also happens due to blood vessel changes in the retina, although, unlike macular degeneration, the changes can affect the entire retina. High blood sugar levels caused by diabetes cause blood vessels in the retina to leak and may also encourage the growth of abnormal vessels. High blood pressure can also cause retinopathy.

Exercising often, in addition to eating a healthy diet, helps you maintain a healthy weight and reduces your risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure.

No matter how busy your life is, you can probably spare 15 to 20 minutes every day or two to get a little aerobic exercise. If you're exhausted by the time you return home at the end of the day, exercise before you go to work, or put on your sneakers and go for a short walk during your lunch break.

Keep This Warning in Mind if You Have Glaucoma

If you already have glaucoma and are hoping to decrease the pressure inside your eyes with exercise, it may be a good idea to avoid exercises that require you to drop your head. Lowering your head while you exercise may cause pressure inside your eyes to rise.

If you practice yoga, avoid the downward-facing dog, forward bend, plow, and the legs-up-the-wall poses. These poses increased eye pressure in people with and without glaucoma, according to a research study published in PLOS One. For safety's sake, check with your eye doctor before you start a new exercise plan and continue to use the medication prescribed to treat your condition.

Embracing a healthy lifestyle, in addition to visiting your optometrist for annual eye exams, can help you protect your vision. If it's time for your next checkup, get in touch with our office to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

Glaucoma Research Foundation: Can Exercise Lower Eye Pressure?

University of Virginia: Exercise Can Slow or Prevent Vision Loss, UVA Study Suggests, 6/30/20

PLOS One: Intraocular Pressure Rise in Subjects with and Without Glaucoma During Four Common Yoga Positions, 12/22/15

  • Common Eye Conditions
    • Age-Related
    • Eye Lids
    • Cognitive and Acquired
    • Vision Impairment
    • Injury & Irritation
    • Changes in Appearance
  • Contact Lenses
  • Eye Diseases
  • Eyeglasses
    • Eyeglass Lenses
  • Eye Symptoms
  • How the Eyes Work
    • Basic Visual Skills
  • Pediatric Vision
  • Protecting Your Eyes
  • Visual Rehabilitation
  • Vision Problems
  • What is Vision Therapy
  • Vision Therapy Programs
  • We Can Help With
    • Cataracts
    • Corneal Disorders
      • Disorders
    • Glaucoma
    • Refractive Disorders
    • Adult Strabismus
    • Retinal Disorders
  • Newsletters
    • Amazing, Interesting Eyes
    • Medical Perspectives
    • Kid's Vision
    • Conditions That Affect Vision
    • Tips for Healthy Eyes
    • Contacts
    • Glasses & Frames

Contact Us

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hours of Operation

Our Regular Schedule

Rohnert Park Office

Monday:

11:00 am-4:00 pm

Tuesday:

10:00 am-7:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-7:00 pm

Thursday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Locations

Find us on the map

    No testimonials found. Please add

Featured Articles

  • Vision Loss and Mental Health

    Feeling depressed after vision loss? ...

    Read More
  • Treatment Options for Presbyopia

    Over 40 and finding it hard to see close-up? One of these presbyopia treatment options could improve your vision. ...

    Read More
  • Summertime Allergies and Your Eyes

    Do you know how to treat your summertime eye allergy symptoms? ...

    Read More
  • Signs You May Have Macular Degeneration

    Could changes in your central vision be caused by macular degeneration? ...

    Read More
  • Glaucoma and You: The Importance of Eye Exams

    Want to avoid vision loss due to glaucoma? Schedule a visit with the eye doctor. ...

    Read More
  • Important Healthy Eye Habits for Kids

    Want to keep your kids' eyes as healthy as possible? Try these tips. ...

    Read More
  • Healthy Vision Month

    Get ready for Healthy Vision Month by upgrading your vision habits. ...

    Read More
  • Presbyopia eye drops

    Would you like to stop squinting when you look at close objects? A new kind of eyedrops can improve presbyopia, an age-related vision problem. ...

    Read More
  • Dry Eye

    Sometimes your eyes don’t make enough tears or the tears evaporate too fast because they don’t have the right amount of compounds in them. This is called dry eye. Up to 5% of Americans complain of some form of dry eye. Individuals who wear contact lenses or have undergone LASIK or other types of ...

    Read More
  • Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

    Similar to a bruise under the skin, a subconjunctival hemorrhage happens when a small blood vessel located between the sclera (white portion of an eye) and the conjunctiva (lining on the surface of an eye) breaks and covers the sclera with blood. Unlike broken blood vessels located under the skin which ...

    Read More

Newsletter Signup

Sign up for more articles!

  • Copyright © 2022 MH Sub I, LLC dba iMatrix.
  • Admin Log In
  • Site Map