Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

I’ve talked in previous articles that my professional career is in Supply Chain and I’m a fully qualified Strategic Buyer. The role comes with a lot of responsibility and having worked in high pressured, fast-paced manufacturing environments through my entire career, I’ve had my fair share of stressful moments. Some of these moments stick in my mind.

I was in my late twenties at the time, working at Electrolux within a small department. My colleague and manager went on a business trip to China for two weeks and I was left flying solo. I’m an efficient person and had been in the role for a long time so the thought of being in charge of Purchasing on my own didn’t daunt me. However, fast forward to week two and I’d developed a twitch in my left eye which I just couldn’t shift. I felt like some sort of Bond villain with a weird, evil twitchy eye!

The stress of dealing with every problem that arose, every meeting, every phone call and dreading every time the door swung into the office wondering what I was going to have to deal with next, had my eye twitching like crazy! This had never happened before and was clearly my stress levels coming out through my eye health, in the form of myokymia. I found the correct name for my eye twitch in the Eye Care Centre at Vision Direct as well as a host of other useful information.

I was so busy with work that I hadn’t taken any time out to exercise on an evening or even go for a lunch time walk which could have given me the break I needed to relieve some stress. Thinking about this period of time and my Bond villain eye twitch, got me thinking about how possible it is to improve your general eye health through exercise. Is it possible?

The answer is simple. Yes it is.

Your eyes receive the same benefit that the rest of your body does when you exercise. The even better news is that you don’t have to run a marathon to see the benefits. Simply adding a few brisk walks into your week, light jogging or even climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, can all contribute towards your eye health. Moderate exercise has been known to lower your intraocular pressure (IOP) and improve blood flow to the retina and optic nerve. There are connections between those who regularly exercise and reduced chance of developing cataracts, wet aged-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.

You’d have to have been living under a rock to not be aware that exercise, even moderate, helps us to stay fitter and healthier in our general well-being. Schools are now taking a much more active role in getting kids on the move and the NHS are encouraging their ‘Walking for Health’ programme for all ages. Exercise limits health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, all of which can also be known to cause eye disease. According to Webmd.com those who exercise regularly are 70% less likely to develop wet age-related macular degeneration compared to those who led inactive lifestyles.

I knew walking was a great exercise for all ages and it’s free. I didn’t know it could improve my eye health! I find this fascinating. Maybe we’re all guilty of taking our vision and general eye health for granted. I hated my eye twitch but thankfully it only lasted a few days. As I’m getting older I appreciate beautiful landscapes, skies and landmarks more and more. The world is a beautiful place and I intend to look after my eyes so I can see it.

Mutha Fitness

Mutha Fitness is a blog to share my weight loss story so far. I'm a 30 something Mum embarking upon a journey of general health, fitness and overall wellbeing.