An Eye on Vision Health

When it comes to muscles, we rarely think about our eyes, and yet the eye is the fastest and most active muscle in the human body (VSP 2018). We say “in the blink of an eye” for a reason! While you probably don’t program “eye lifts” into your strength training routines, exercise does support healthy vision. Read on to find out more about the benefits, along with a few fun facts you can share with clients to further inspire them to keep moving.

• While you need to warm up most muscles to prepare them for movement, the eyes are ready for action 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (VSP 2018).
• Glaucoma, increased pressure within the eyeball, damages the optic nerve. Walking two or three times a week may lower pressure on the nerve. Research focused on young adults found that moderate-intensity, low-impact exercise led to significant reductions in eye pressure (Read & Collins 2011).
• Eye muscles are 100 times stronger than they need to be (Lenstore Vision Hub 2015).
• One study found that a brisk walk or run “may be associated with decreased risk of age-related cataract” (Williams 2013). A second study echoed this finding and added that a lack of physical activity may be associated with a higher risk of getting cataracts (Zheng et al. 2015).
• A 15-year study of nearly 4,000 older adults found that active people who exercised three or more times a week were less likely to get exudative (wet) age-related macular degeneration, which develops when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak fluid and blood into the eye (Knudtson, Klein & Klein 2006).
• We blink about 12 times every minute (VSP 2018).