Keep Your Eyes in Top Condition

By Kyle Roderick
ThirdAge Staff

Of all the senses, vision is the one many of us value the most. Besides helping you see better, simple eye care strategies can help you live and work more productively.

You can reduce puffiness and dark circles anytime, anywhere, with a soothing gel eye mask sold at drugstores and pharmacies.

Alleviate eyestrain and itchy or jet-lagged eyes with aromatherapeutic eye pillows filled with lavender, flax seed, peppermint and other herbs. It's My Nature has Therapeutic Quality Herb-Filled Eye Pillows containing various herbs and essential oils.

Night vision can be improved by sniffing vials of essential oils, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., F.A.C.P., a neurologist and psychiatrist who directs the Chicago-based Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Hirsch says that certain scents, such as jasmine, vanilla or peppermint, have been scientifically confirmed to help sharpen focus and improve vision.

Inhaling jasmine increases the beta waves in the frontal lobes of the brain, scientists have found. "This promotes increased alertness, and when you're more awake and alert, you focus better on things and thus see more acutely," says Hirsch.

"Jasmine, vanilla or peppermint promote heightened focus because the rods in your eyes (rod-shaped cells in the retina which respond to dim light) are more stimulated whenever the brain is activated by scents," adds Hirsch. "The rods play a vital role in night vision. Sniff a different scent every 20 minutes and you will see better because you'll be more awake and focused."

"Taking 'vision breaks' every half hour or so is essential when reading or working on a computer," says eyewear designer Gai Gherardi, co-founder of the award-winning international eyewear firm l.a.Eyeworks. "Choose an object at least 10 feet away in the distance that you can focus on and stare at it for at least a minute to rest your eyes and daydream," she advises.

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