December Doings Near Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley CA

December begins tomorrow, and while the holiday season is now in full force, don’t get so bogged down and preoccupied with finishing your gift buying that you forget about some goings on in Berkeley. As your friends at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley will tell you (literally and figuratively) – “SEE what you may be missing.”

This is a season of giving, and if your stamina is up for it and you can stand a little discomfort, there is no greater gift than helping to save a life. On Tuesday, December 4^th, consider donating blood at UC Berkeley at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building, from noon until 6 pm. Walk-ins are accepted, but making an appointment is encouraged. For more information, call 415-235-7617. This is one gift that will not be bartered or traded for.

Are you into the environment, green technology, and all things related to sustainable energy? If yes, you might be very interested in attending the lecture: “Can We Make Low-Carbon Sustainable Energy For All Work?” This event will be held at the Banatao Auditorium, which is also located at UC Berkeley. It takes place the day after the blood drive, so make sure you’ve got your energy level back up as this will be an informative, worthwhile presentation.

Art buffs and culture enthusiasts will have a number of choices in store, one of which is the WONDER: 2012 Artist’s Annual, taking place at the Berkeley Art Center on Thursday, December 6^th. Come browse through the halls, where a variety of artwork will be on display. (Oh, and if you wear either eyeglasses or contact lenses – clean them, and don’t forget to wear them!)

Although snow is sparse (O.K., non-existent) in Northern California, there’s no reason not to get into the spirit of holiday season, for those who celebrate. Upcoming events include the Kairos Youth Winter Concert on December 9^th at St. John’s Presbyterian Church at 6:00 pm, and a Klezmer Chanukah party at the Subterranean Art House on December 13^th at 9:00 pm.

As you can see, Berkeley is booming with exciting events and happenings in December. To enjoy every moment the season brings, be sure to keep your eyesight as healthy as possible. While you’re decking the halls, thing about decking yourself out in a new pair of eyeglasses to really help capture these special times. And if you haven’t scheduled your annual eye exam, this is the time to do so. Eye exams, eyeglasses, sunglasses (yes, the sun can still be blindingly bright in December), contact lenses and more are yours for the choosing at Site for Sore Eyes.

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley CA Reminds you to Exercise Those Eyes!

Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? Did you all eat enough…too much, perhaps? Hey, it’s the holidays…you’re supposed to feast.

If you’re health conscious, you may now decide to cut back on how much you eat or do a bit more exercising (or both) during the next few days. And while we are on the topic of exercise, are you aware that your eyes can get exercise? It’s true, as we at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley can tell you. And what’s great about exercising your eyes, is that you won’t break out into a sweat and your joints won’t ache when you are through with an optical workout!

Before we go any further, however, we must point out that exercising your eyes will not drastically improve your vision to the point where you will not need to wear eyeglasses, contact lenses, or any other form of eyewear (if in fact you do). According to WebMD®, certain vision problems may be helped by eye exercises. What eye exercises can do is improve cognitive functioning, memory, and attention – all of which are vision-centered. By doing the occasional optical exercise, the connection between your brain and vision can become quicker and sharper. It’s a win-win situation for your eyes, your mind – in short – you.

Now, let us proceed with the optical exercises.
Go to your web browser of choice, do a search for “eye exercises” and behold the many choices.

·   For offline exercises, there are some basics from wikiHow.com that involve relaxing, massaging, and testing the eyes.

·   For online options, one website that showed up worth considering is eyecanlearn.com. Perception, tracking, focusing and eye teaming are the four core exercise plans, where visual memory, line tracking, and focus shifts are among different tests for strengthening vision.

·   If you are willing to spend some money for some truly challenging and fun games, we recommend lumosity.com. On this site, a variety of exercises that have been designed to test and strengthen memory, problem solving, flexibility and speed are available to you. From comparing and matching different shapes with one another, to mathematical calculations that scroll down from the screen, the eye/brain connection can be strengthened each time you choose to play. (As with a gym membership, the more you play, the more you will benefit. Don’t just pay the membership and think that is all there is to it.)

And in closing, may we remind you of the importance of an annual eye exam? (We know, you’ve read about this ad nauseam in many blogs, but it still bears repeating.) If you are conscientious enough to get a physical examination each year, your eyes deserve the same treatment and attention. Contact us at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley for your eye exam. Even if you think your vision is strong, an exam can let you know for sure. Now, drop down and give those eyelids twenty!

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley is Thankful for Thanksgiving Dinner

It’s hard to forget that Thanksgiving is less than one week away, with those enticing commercials for Pillsbury Crescent rolls on TV, along with every grocery store full of the traditional holiday staples, like stuffing and cranberry sauce.

As you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration, keep in mind that there are ways to make this filling feast of food, family and giving thanks, healthier. If your main dish is turkey, you are already nourishing yourself with a low fat protein that is rich in zinc, an important mineral for maintaining healthy eyesight… it’s your side dishes and desserts that you should be wary of. Did you know that candied sweet potatoes and a creamy green bean casserole are considered to be two of the unhealthiest Thanksgiving dishes?

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley would like to provide you with some tips to ensure that your holiday is delicious AND nutritious:
-When planning your holiday menu, consider adding fish whenever possible, as it is a great source of zinc and omega-3 fatty acids.
-When grocery shopping, stock up on your veggies and leafy greens, such as spinach, broccoli and asparagus, which contain Vitamin C and E, and help prevent and reduce macular degeneration.
-When preparing your turkey, don’t skimp out by spraying it with an oil spray; instead, lather it in butter – a surprisingly good source of Vitamin A, which is an important nutrient for healthy eyes.

And remember, not only are you making healthy choices for your stomach, heart and skin…but your eyes, too! Use this resource from your friends at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley when preparing for the holidays, and we guarantee that you won’t sacrifice taste for healthy living.

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley CA Asks: How Are You Seeing Your Schoolwork?

To you young people who have gone from high school to college – it’s lesson time. The name of this lecture is “Basic Vision Health” and your instructors are the staff at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley.

University of Berkeley students, you’ve had time to get acclimated to your new classes and professors, and have hopefully had some time to hang out with friends and enjoy campus life.

But let us focus on schoolwork. In days gone by, teachers would stand at a blackboard, talking and writing, or lecture in front of a podium. Students would listen and (hopefully) learn what was being taught. Then, at home or in the dorm room, homework assignments that ranged from reports to term papers would be written in spiral notebooks or typed out on typewriters.

Things changed – you lucky kids, you!

With the technological revolution, computers – whether they are PCs, Macs®, laptops or tablets – have been a prime accessory in education. From researching course-related material to writing those reports – it is a safe bet that every college student has some form of computer device to assist them in their studies. Oh, and let’s not forget socializing with friends after class (well, we HOPE you are not socializing DURING class). Computers and social life go hand-in-hand; Facebook posts and Twitter tweets to keep in contact with friends is a given.

What is not a given, however, is how long your eyes will hold out. No, this is not a scare tactic to make you curb the extent you use your computer for classwork, nor is it an excuse to stop doing your schoolwork. What we at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley are requesting, however, is to keep your eyes healthy. The computer screens you are in front of all day may result in eyestrain – if not checked. Make sure you have the right lighting, that your display is (reasonably) current, and that the settings of the display are adjusted properly. For more details about how to avoid eye strain, check out this list from All About Vision®.

That takes care of the computer. Now let’s take care of YOU. Once a year, please, be sure you get your eyes checked. If you wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, please make sure your prescription is up to date. Remember that while computers are a luxury that some of us more mature (O.K. – older) people did not have, the risk for eyestrain was also not as great for us as it is for you. Eyestrain may start to creep up on you without you being conscious of it.

When you began college, you more than likely had some form of student advisor to counsel you about school. Well, why not let Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley serve as your vision advisor? We can and will keep you in the know about the health of your vision.