I recall the eye exam just before I turned 50. I had to admit that a couple of the choices the optometrist showed me were a bit blurred. A series of headaches convinced me to get my eyes checked and I expected I would finally need some help. What bothered me though was when he said "We've got you now!" Perhaps I misunderstood his meaning, but it sounded a bit too triumphant to me. Finally needing to rely on glasses seemed like a lousy milestone, and a loss, at least for me. For the optometrist, I guess I represented job security. In any case, I soon had reading glasses. Because of my work I soon needed bifocals, and for very close work, tri-focals.
Our eyes do tend to deteriorate as we age for a number of reasons. Muscles used to reshape the eye ball don't work as well, circulation is not so good (especially for those who smoke!), and a number of other factors including certain medications, all can contribute to worsening vision. But there are a number things you can do every day, several times a day, that can help slow down the process and help your vision. You may not believe them. I didn't...until I tried them. It won't cost you anything to test these yourself and you might be surprised with the results.
First, know this. In order to see better, you must learn to relax your eyes. Straining to focus makes it worse, not better. Make sure you have enough light to see clearly, especially if you are reading. Sometimes just a brighter reading light can make a remarkeable improvement. Eye strain gradually increases over time, so don't sit and read for long periods. Make it a habit to read no more than a page, maybe even less, then look up and focus on objects across the room, or across the street. Move your eyes around, looking at things both near and far. Don't squint to see something far away. Just keep your eyes relaxed. Next, try "cupping". This can be very refreshing to your eyes late in the day, but it is helpful at any time. Keeping your eyes open and relaxed, cup your hands and place them over your eyes, not placing any pressure on the eyes at all. Keep your cupped hands over your eyes for several minutes, not moving the eye at all. Then slowly move the eyes up and down, left and right, and in a circular motion. The cupped hands provide soothing warmth to the eyes and the darkeness allows the muscles to relax. Then when the eyes are relaxed, gently exercise them with gentle movements. Like any muscle group, the eye muscles need a rest now and then.
One last thing to consider. What happens if you break a bone and have to wear a cast for six weeks? If it is a leg cast, your muscles begin to atrophy and weaken, and it may require some therapy to get the muscle tone and strength back so that you can walk normally. Now, what do you suppose happens to the muscles in your eyes when you wear glasses (think of them as "eye splints")? Do the eyes get stronger? No! They grow progressively weaker. You can slow this process down considerably if you will exercise your eyes as mentioned above, and wear glasses only as needed. When I pick up something to read, I first see if I really need my reading glasses. If I can read whatever the material is without straining and without glasses, I don't wear them.
Now I will admit to you that my optometrist and I do not agree on this theory of mine. But then, he can't explain why my reading glass prescription has remained unchanged now for about eight years. In fact, I keep asking him to take the correction off of the upper (distance) part of my lenses and just give me something for when I read. He convinces me I really need the tiny bit of distance correction, and I go along. He says just wear them all the time and your eyes will get used to them. I say, wear them all the time and my eyes will quit focusing on distant objects without them. I try the new glasses, everything more than about 30 or 40 feet away looks a little blurry, and I take them off. I complain. He says "You are not giving your eyes time to adjust". I say "Baloney". So, my nice new prescription glasses are in a case on my dresser. I wear a pair of $12 drugstore reading glasses on the end of my nose or on top of my head. Same glasses for about 5 years now. I broke the first pair. Same strength, 1.5. For the computer I have a pair of 1.25. The optometrist did convince me to make that change, because the 1.5 glasses give me a headache if I'm on the computer too long.
Before you think that my optometrist just doesn't know how to do his job... he does. He's a board certified eye surgeon and a wonderful eye doctor. The problem isn't him. It's me. But so far, my theory seems to be holding up. Maybe I'm a genetic fluke, or maybe I'm on to something here. In any case, I know that wearing a splint does not strengthen a joint, it protects it. But to strengthen it, you've got to get the splint off and exercise it eventually. I believe the eyes work the same way. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Stay Younger Longer
By now you may have given up on finding the fountain of youth. You may have even resigned yourself to the idea that each year you should look and feel and act a year older. Well, a lot of us aren't buying that one. Just look around you. So long as we continue to inhabit these imperfect bodies in this corrupt old world we will continue to age. But WELLNESS AFTER 50 is one place that you won't find such complacent people, just sitting around listening to their own exhalations while waiting for the other shoe to drop. Much research as well as anecdotal evidence indicates that we can be a lot happier with our lives if we remain "engaged", and take steps to keep ourselves healthier and more fit, both mentally and physically, and even emotionally. So here are just a few more things you might want to consider. For most of them you don't even have to talk to your doctor.
1. Eat a small handful of nuts every day. If you have allergy issues, of course DON"t do this. Otherwise, keep it to a small handful, about the size of your palm, and be sure to have a variety including hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. In fact, you can go look up my article about nuts in the "other" blog, thenew50@blogspot.com
2. Tell them to cut it out. If you live in the same house with a smoker, their habit is carving years from your life expectancy. Smoking is such a foolish way to die. It's not just their habit, it's your life.
3. Get off the couch. Couch potatoes eventually all tend to look like their namesakes, potatoes! You may have also noticed that potatoes, while not terribly fragile, do have a limited shelf life, and often you don't know they've gone bad until they really begin to stink. Get up and go do something...anything!
4. Just write it down. Seems that we adults tend to lose our ability to remember things in the short term long before we forget how to read. Simple? Just write it down. If you are going to the store to pick up a few things for the wife, don't be too proud to make a list. That way you won't have to be embarrassed when you come home without the main thing she sent you out for in the first place. Doing this will help keep you calm while still sailing smoothly.
5. Keep track of who you are, what day it is, where you are, and once in awhile, even give a thought to WHY you are where you are. Couch potatoes, on the other hand, don't have a clue about any of this. Some folks seem to think acting all befuddled is somehow cute as they get older. It isn't. Trust me. Some think it is their right to be helpless and confused. NOPE. So long as you have the ability to be aware and engaged, make the effort. People will actually want to spend some time with you, talking with you, being with you, instead of working around you and pretending you aren't there at all.
6. Speak up! By this I mean don't sit there in pain and fear if something isn't working quite the way it usually does. It might be important! An amazing percentage of the time it is something that can be coaxed back into normal operation, or patched up well enough to be mostly good enough to suffice. The point is, in this life pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. If you can't take yourself to get some medical attention, speak up to someone who can, and should, and probably will. In fact, they are more likely to get a bit peeved if you DON'T speak up. No matter how much we might WISH for someone to read our minds, it just isn't going to happen.
7. Drink up!!! Drink a lot, and drink pretty often. Now I'm talking about water and tea mostly, but slip in a nice glass of some red wine once in awhile as well. If you don't drink now, don't start. But if you do have a drink once in awhile, then a single daily glass of the red stuff can probably do you a lot more good than harm. If you have some condition that rules that out, then don't drink and know that you have my deepest sympathies. Otherwise, start your morning with a glass of water. Have a cup of coffee later or maybe a cup of tea. Any kind will do, but green tea is a winner. Then have another glass of water. Just dont drink anything, especially cold things just before, with, or right after a meal. Want to clog up all your pipes? Pour grease in your drain then run some cold water. Same thing with your body. When you are eating, don't drink. When you are drinking, don't eat. Simple.
8. Well, maybe that's enough to think about for now. If you just do these things every day until you don't even have to think about it, then you might be ready to add a few more. By then you might also see that it is making a difference in the way you feel, and the way you sleep. And maybe a few other things as well. I hope you'll find your way back here to tell us about it. Let's make that number 8. Share an encouraging word or experience. Lots better than whining and complaining.
1. Eat a small handful of nuts every day. If you have allergy issues, of course DON"t do this. Otherwise, keep it to a small handful, about the size of your palm, and be sure to have a variety including hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. In fact, you can go look up my article about nuts in the "other" blog, thenew50@blogspot.com
2. Tell them to cut it out. If you live in the same house with a smoker, their habit is carving years from your life expectancy. Smoking is such a foolish way to die. It's not just their habit, it's your life.
3. Get off the couch. Couch potatoes eventually all tend to look like their namesakes, potatoes! You may have also noticed that potatoes, while not terribly fragile, do have a limited shelf life, and often you don't know they've gone bad until they really begin to stink. Get up and go do something...anything!
4. Just write it down. Seems that we adults tend to lose our ability to remember things in the short term long before we forget how to read. Simple? Just write it down. If you are going to the store to pick up a few things for the wife, don't be too proud to make a list. That way you won't have to be embarrassed when you come home without the main thing she sent you out for in the first place. Doing this will help keep you calm while still sailing smoothly.
5. Keep track of who you are, what day it is, where you are, and once in awhile, even give a thought to WHY you are where you are. Couch potatoes, on the other hand, don't have a clue about any of this. Some folks seem to think acting all befuddled is somehow cute as they get older. It isn't. Trust me. Some think it is their right to be helpless and confused. NOPE. So long as you have the ability to be aware and engaged, make the effort. People will actually want to spend some time with you, talking with you, being with you, instead of working around you and pretending you aren't there at all.
6. Speak up! By this I mean don't sit there in pain and fear if something isn't working quite the way it usually does. It might be important! An amazing percentage of the time it is something that can be coaxed back into normal operation, or patched up well enough to be mostly good enough to suffice. The point is, in this life pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. If you can't take yourself to get some medical attention, speak up to someone who can, and should, and probably will. In fact, they are more likely to get a bit peeved if you DON'T speak up. No matter how much we might WISH for someone to read our minds, it just isn't going to happen.
7. Drink up!!! Drink a lot, and drink pretty often. Now I'm talking about water and tea mostly, but slip in a nice glass of some red wine once in awhile as well. If you don't drink now, don't start. But if you do have a drink once in awhile, then a single daily glass of the red stuff can probably do you a lot more good than harm. If you have some condition that rules that out, then don't drink and know that you have my deepest sympathies. Otherwise, start your morning with a glass of water. Have a cup of coffee later or maybe a cup of tea. Any kind will do, but green tea is a winner. Then have another glass of water. Just dont drink anything, especially cold things just before, with, or right after a meal. Want to clog up all your pipes? Pour grease in your drain then run some cold water. Same thing with your body. When you are eating, don't drink. When you are drinking, don't eat. Simple.
8. Well, maybe that's enough to think about for now. If you just do these things every day until you don't even have to think about it, then you might be ready to add a few more. By then you might also see that it is making a difference in the way you feel, and the way you sleep. And maybe a few other things as well. I hope you'll find your way back here to tell us about it. Let's make that number 8. Share an encouraging word or experience. Lots better than whining and complaining.
Monday, February 11, 2008
A Dry Spell
As many of you may know, I live and write in the South. We've been deep in drought, if not a recession, for quite some time now, and I think it might have had an adverse impact on my writing as well. My apologies. I've taken a few weeks to regroup and recharge my batteries.
As you know, I focus the material in this fairly new blog on issues pertaining to the over 50 crowd. Maybe my over 60 fatigue would be a fitting subject for a new post here, but I'm too tired to write it at the moment.
Over these last few weeks I've learned a few things. Among them I've learned that: I get paid the same whether I write every day or not at all - nothing; I get just about the same response from the readers of this blog - again, nothing; and perhaps most important of all, I discovered that I write and post here more for my own enjoyment than for yours. Now those may be things that you will find offensive for me to state. I hope not. No offense is intended. But in view of the very limited readership and even more limited response, I have to ask myself why I am doing this at all. Perhaps it is simply because I enjoy the challenge of putting thoughts into fairly coherent form and I still think that writing is an art form worth preserving. People don't write letters any more. They seem to have accepted a lower form of writing called e-mail, and are content to butcher the language there at will. Acceptable form in an e-mail is not a high hurdle.
In fact, grammer and spelling don't seem to have a function at all in some of the ones I receive. I've taken to overlooking my own typos in outgoing e-mail, and that has begun to bother me a bit. So I am going back to my pre-computer, pre-internet, pre-email attempt to write properly in an effort to preserve a bit of self-respect, if not the art form itself.
I do hope you will read something here from time to time that is useful to you in some way. Encouraging at least. Informative would be a wonderful accomplishment. And if you do, won't you please take a moment or two to comment and contribute some original thoughts as well? I've placed upon myself a vague sort of deadline for how much longer I will continue to write and post here, based very loosely upon your response, or lack thereof. I check my stats from time to time and see the number of visitors slowly grow, and I hope to hear from one or two of you.
As you know, I focus the material in this fairly new blog on issues pertaining to the over 50 crowd. Maybe my over 60 fatigue would be a fitting subject for a new post here, but I'm too tired to write it at the moment.
Over these last few weeks I've learned a few things. Among them I've learned that: I get paid the same whether I write every day or not at all - nothing; I get just about the same response from the readers of this blog - again, nothing; and perhaps most important of all, I discovered that I write and post here more for my own enjoyment than for yours. Now those may be things that you will find offensive for me to state. I hope not. No offense is intended. But in view of the very limited readership and even more limited response, I have to ask myself why I am doing this at all. Perhaps it is simply because I enjoy the challenge of putting thoughts into fairly coherent form and I still think that writing is an art form worth preserving. People don't write letters any more. They seem to have accepted a lower form of writing called e-mail, and are content to butcher the language there at will. Acceptable form in an e-mail is not a high hurdle.
In fact, grammer and spelling don't seem to have a function at all in some of the ones I receive. I've taken to overlooking my own typos in outgoing e-mail, and that has begun to bother me a bit. So I am going back to my pre-computer, pre-internet, pre-email attempt to write properly in an effort to preserve a bit of self-respect, if not the art form itself.
I do hope you will read something here from time to time that is useful to you in some way. Encouraging at least. Informative would be a wonderful accomplishment. And if you do, won't you please take a moment or two to comment and contribute some original thoughts as well? I've placed upon myself a vague sort of deadline for how much longer I will continue to write and post here, based very loosely upon your response, or lack thereof. I check my stats from time to time and see the number of visitors slowly grow, and I hope to hear from one or two of you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
