Did you know that a few minutes everyday is more than enough to protect your eyesight?

Work demands in today’s computer world where the use of computers, laptops and mobiles are inevitable at work as well at home. Today's lifestyle and work atmosphere along with the use of modern appliances and gadgets for work and entertainment, like television, mobile and computer are taking a heavy toll on the general health and well being of eyes. People tend to forget that eyes too need exercise as well as rest for its proper functioning. Working for continuous long hours before computer or watching television for a prolonged time and that too without enough blinking is very dangerous to eyes. It makes the eyes dry and scrappy. Today, a large section of children are myopic, the major culprit for this being television. Also inadequate sleep, poor eating habits, long and frequent journeys, inappropriate head position while lying, continuous reading of small prints, etc can cause eye disorders. Ayurvedic ophthalmology or ‘Netra Chikitsa’ as it is known is a well documented branch of Ayurveda which deals with different eye problems and their treatment aspects including diet & lifestyle modifications. 

Know these simple Ayurvedic tips at home, work and while going outside to maintain eye health.

• Use glasses with anti reflective coating while using computers and while driving.

• Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes in bright sunlight.

• Do not pour hot water over head during bath. Pouring hot water over the head and face reduces the strength of the eyes and decreases vision.

• Avoid reading, watching television, using a computer or working in dim or bright light. Make sure that you have a proper light source.

• Adopt at ergonomic posture at work.

• Adopt proper sitting postures while watching television. Watching television in improper postures can also cause a decrease in vision and lead to eye disorders.

• Watch TV from at least ten feet away, not too close and not too far. 

• Avoid reading small prints continuously for long hours.

• Splash your eyes and face with plain water before going to bed and after waking up in the morning. Also you can splash water on your eyes twice or thrice in between work.

• If you're hot and sweaty, wait 10-15 minutes until your body adjusts before splashing water on your face and eyes.

• If your job is computer based, then take a short break of 2 minutes every one hour and look away from the computer. Rub your palms and place them on your eyes.  

• Once a week, place a slice of cucumber or cotton pads dipped in rose water over closed eyes and relax for 10 minutes. This is helpful for tired eyes. 

• Include more protein of vegetarian origin in diet. Green leafy vegetables should be a part of your daily diet. Include 1 – 2 tsp of pure cow’s ghee in your diet. Drink 10 – 12 glasses of water.

• Go to sleep at least before 11 pm. One of the main causes of eye problems is inadequate sleep.

• Apply pure cow’s ghee like collyrium before going to bed.

Special care is needed for the eyes which are the delicate organ in the human body. But most of the time we tend to overuse the sense organs and forget to take necessary steps to protect them which in the course of time can do harm to the eyes due to our carelessness and by not taking necessary steps to protect the eyesight, eventually leading to fatal damages. Following the above mentioned easy to follow tips will help in maintaining good vision.