Aging and Vision

Change in vision is an obvious sign of aging. Decades of slow and subtle changes in vision have resulted in gradual loss of vision.

Hardening of the lens is the most obvious sign of vision deterioration. You begin to experience difficulty in seeing 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 too 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, you should also exercise your eyes to give them flexibility, which is the solution to hardening of the lens. If conditions continue to get worse, you might even have to take off your reading glasses when you read.

Another major 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. This insensitivity reduces the amount of light getting to the retina. To illustrate, 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 when driving at night.

Perception of colors is also another change as you continue to age. The explanation is that your lens tends to become yellowish somewhat. You may 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.

Vision changes are inevitable as aging continues. To alleviate vision problems, eat a healthy diet that supplies nutrients to the eyes. For example, you can use diet to overcome macular degeneration. Albert Einstein once said: "There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." Believe in a miracle cure, even for macular degeneration. In addition, do simple eye exercises that can be performed any time throughout the day. Of course, don’t spend too much time in front of the computer. Stress also plays a pivotal role in damaging the eyes. In short, you need a holistic approach to vision health. Finally, don’t wear your eyeglasses or contact lens all the time: they precondition your vision; your eyes should have flexibility in close as well as faraway vision.  

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau