It’s that time of the year again. You can’t avoid it, and
whether you want to admit it or not, you’ve probably had a New Year’s
resolution or two burrowed – deep in the back of your mind; something you’ve wanted to do or a goal you’ve tried countless times to achieve. You
tell yourself over and over again, “This will be my year! I’m going to be so
healthy in the New Year…I’m going to exercise every day and I’m going to eat
right.” According to statistics published by the University of Scranton, about
45% of Americans told themselves the same thing. But don’t worry – you weren’t
the only one who failed. Only 8% of the people who set the standard “lose
weight” resolution actually achieved
it. To those 8%, we salute you. Good job.
Now, don’t let this discourage you… just don’t let history
repeat itself. If the standard approach you once took didn’t work the first
time, try and approach your resolution in a different way. Break down your
overall big goal into smaller, more achievable goals. Start with one or two small
goals each week, such as drinking 6-8 glasses of water each day, or taking the
stairs instead of the elevator. Each week, add one or two more weekly goals
that will help you achieve your overall goal. After a while, your first goals
will become a habit, allowing you to concentrate on achieving your newer weekly
goals.
Ease into exercise. It is not healthy to go from a
completely sedentary lifestyle to a completely active one. Don’t burn yourself
out. Start with a goal of going to the gym one or two days a week and then work
up from there.
By making small, steady changes to your lifestyle,
you will be able to ease into your new regimen, rather than have a really
successful first two weeks (followed by 50 weeks of regret and self-pity).
Now, the weekly goals to achieve an overall healthy
lifestyle in the New Year don’t all have to be exercise and diet-related. There
are other things you can do to help your body, such as making sure you get 7-8
hours of sleep each night, meditating daily – or even exercising your eyes.
Did you really
think you’d get through this post without us mentioning your ocular health?
Add these fun and simple eye exercises into your daily
routine to help maintain your eyes’ ability to focus and preserve your vision.
Now, there are countless eye exercises you can do. Here are our favorites.
1.
Close your eyes tightly for 3-5 seconds. Open
them for 3-5 seconds. Repeat this about 7 or 8 times.
2.
Extend your arm to its full length and hold your
finger up. Move your finger closer and closer to your face until your eyes can
no longer focus on it. This is your focus line. Move your finger back to its
original position, so your arm is fully extended. Repeat this 10 times. A
variation on this activity would be to tie an object such as bolt to a string.
Swing the object towards and away from your face while you try and keep the
bolt in focus.
3.
Lightly press three fingers on each of your
hands against your upper eyelids for 1-2 seconds, and release. Repeat this 5 times.
4.
Try this activity when you are lying in bed or
on the couch relaxing. For one set, roll your eyes clockwise, then
counter-clockwise. Blink in between each set, completing a total of five sets.
5.
Focus on a distant object (over 150 feet away)
for about 10-15 seconds, and then refocus your eyes on an object that is less
than 30 feet away. Focus on this object for 10-15 seconds. Do this five times.
6.
Make vertical eye movements, going from up to
down. Do this eight times and then make horizontal eye movements, starting from
left to right. Repeat this eight times. Make sure you don’t over extend and
look further than your eyes want to go in any particular direction, or you risk
making your vision worse.
7.
Finish up your eye exercises with palming. This
is one of many activities you can do to complete your eye exercise routine. To
palm your eyes, make sure you are sitting comfortably. Rub your hands together
until they are warm. Close your eyes and lightly cover them with your cupped
palms. Do not apply pressure to your eyeballs, and make sure your nose is not
covered. Close the spaces in between your fingers as tight as possible to
ensure that no light is getting through. Although you may see lingering traces
of color, imagine a deep blackness and focus on it. Start taking slow, deep,
even breaths while focusing on the blackness and either thinking of something
happy or visualizing a peaceful scene. After you see nothing but darkness,
remove your palms from your eyes. Repeat this activity for three more minutes.
These eye exercises can really come in handy when you are
tired from staring at a screen all day or stressed out at work.
Looking for other ways to keep up on your vision in the New
Year? Visit us at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley and meet with
one of our vision care specialists. We’d love to help
you meet part of your New Year resolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment