Change in vision is a tale-telling sign of aging. Your eyes undergo subtle and gradual changes over the years.

One of the changes is hardening of the lens resulting in difficulty to see clearly objects within 2 feet. This usually occurs when one is over 40 years old. As you continue to age, the lens stiffens, making the eye hard to focus on objects that are close. You may ignore the problem; however, ultimately, wearing reading glasses is inevitable to overcome presbyopia, which is stiffening of the lens. Eye exercise is important to delay the condition or to prevent it from worsening. If you exercise your body, it is natural that you also exercise your eyes to give them flexibility.

Another change in vision due to aging is the inability to see in dim light. Vision is possible only when light passes through the lens to the retina at the back of the eye. Through years of wear and tear, your lens becomes denser and less sensitive, and thus decreasing the amount of light getting to the retina. On average, a 60-year-old person needs 3 times more light to read than a young adult. This explains why you may react more slowly to changes in light. In addition, if you have developed cataract, which is a cloudy condition of the eye, you may have increasing sensitivity to glare.

Perception of colors is yet another change as you age. The reason is that your lens tends to yellow slightly; this may cause you to have problem reading black letters against a blue background or reading blue letters.

Other vision-related problems include floaters, which are tiny solidified fluids within the eye, and dry eyes due to decline in tear-production cells.

All in all, vision health declines as one continues to age. To protect and preserve your eyes, you need simple eye exercises that can be performed any time throughout the day. Of course, diet, too, plays an important role. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau