It is seen that women tend to need glasses for reading earlier than men. It was not clear why this was so, but recent research seems to shed some light on this. It would seem that it is our shorter arms that may be responsible for female eyesight deteriorating earlier than men’s.
Here’s why and what you can do to enjoy better eyesight for longer:
Shorter arms could mean that female eyesight deteriorates faster
Since women have shorter arms than men, we tend to hold reading material closer to our eyes. This means that the ability of the eyes to focus is impacted and age related vision deterioration catches up with women faster than it does with men.
It isn’t that female eyes are any worse than male eyes. It is just that our ability to focus up close is impacted by the way we hold our reading material. These findings could have far-reaching consequences for presbyopia correction programs for women it is thought.
Tips to protect eyesight
- Blink frequently to help improve lubrication of the eyes. Do not ignore symptoms of dry eyes. Consider using artificial tears or lubricating drops.
- Quit smoking to help control and slow down the macular degeneration in the eyes and damage to the optic nerves as well as to delay development of cataracts.
- Know your risk factors. What eye conditions are common in your family and what are the symptoms you should watch out for?
- Get regular eye checkups so that any anomalies can be detected in time and degeneration of eyesight can be halted.
- Protect eyes from the sun. The ultraviolet rays of the sun can accelerate macular degeneration and development of cataracts.
- Try to prevent and control chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. This is in the interests of overall health as well as vision. These conditions are known to have a detrimental impact on vision.
- Eat plenty of fruit and veggies, particularly dark green and other bright colored foods. If you have any nutritional deficiencies, complement your diet with a multivitamin or other nutritional supplement.
- Wear safety eyewear when working, while playing contact sport or even when doing something like hanging a picture up on a wall. These events could cause serious eye injuries, vision impairment in cases even vision loss.
