Pros And Cons 

2010 01 10 - 0445b - Russett - Eye
Photo license: AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike Some rights reserved
Source
It may feel tempting to leave in your contacts after a long day at work or a late night partying. After all, dealing with contacts and solutions is not the ideal way that we would like to end every single day. No matter how tired you are or if you are on vacation or recently home from a concert, you have to remember your contacts. And weren't convenience and quality of life two of the main reasons that you opted for contact lenses over glasses in the first place? It may seem as if modern technology could ease your eye wear woes with popular choices like extended-wear contact lenses. But is it really safe to wear the same contact lenses night after night?Those who sleep in their contacts may have the sneaking suspicion that this is not the best decision for their eyes...and, as it turns out, they are right. 



Regular Contact Lenses 

If your contact lenses are not specifically designed for overnight wear, you should absolutely avoid wearing them while sleeping. This is because hard contact lenses and those not made for overnight wear do not allow enough oxygen to reach the eye. So, not only will you wake up with scratchy, irritated eyes; you will put yourself at risk for dangerous eye infections because of the lack of oxygen to your peepers--yep, oxygen helps your eyes fight off infections. 



The Pros of Extended-Wear Lenses 

These types of lenses have been approved by physicians and the FDA for overnight wear. This is because these varieties of lenses allow more oxygen to reach the eye. This is good for many reasons. Eyes do not dry out so much as they do with lenses that are not breathable, meaning that sleeping in your lenses causes less pain and irritation. The added oxygen helps your eyes defend themselves from bacteria, and it makes the eye environment a little less friendly to bacteria growth. 


The Cons of Extended-Wear Lenses 

For many years contact lens wearers felt perfectly safe to sleep in their extended-wear lenses. More recent medical studies have proven, though, that this practice is not as risk free as it was once imagined to be. In spite of the fact that extended-wear lenses are more breathable, they still create a moist, warm environment over the eye. This makes wearers particularly susceptible to dangerous eye infections. Overnight lens wear is the number one cause of infective corneal ulcers, a dangerous condition that could even lead to losing your eye. Studies have found that the type of extended-wear lens that you use could raise your chances for this threat. Although sleeping in hydrogel or silicone hydrogel lenses can both cause infections, those who wear hydrogel lenses are at a far greater risk for these issues. Many eye specialists advise patients to take their lenses out before bed, even if they are using extended-wear varieties. Sleep in these lenses on occasion, rather than every night, if you must sleep in them at all. 

Even though it is a pain to remove your lenses each night, you should try to make this common practice. If you are the type who needs a night off from lens care every now and then, choose a silicon hydrogen extended-wear lens, and be sure to take them out before bed as often as possible. 

This is a guest-post by Ashley Williamson. Ashley is a part time guest blogger and a full time health specialist currently writing for OZmattress where you can find great deals of mattress sale online.
License: Royalty Free or iStock source:
 shuttersock
" Try these exercises for several weeks and see if you notice any difference in your vision. These exercises may not correct your vision, but they help for sure."

Today’s stimulation on the eyes is vastly different from the stimulation of the past. Television, computer screens, phones, and other electronic-based screens can quickly deteriorate eyesight by causing focus problems, headaches, blurred vision, and nearsightedness. In the past, it was easy to refocus the eyes and avoid straining the eyes because many daily work tasks allowed the ability to switch focus and rest the eyes. Today’s work requires that individuals stare at one point for hours at a time, which can weaken the eyes and cause vision problems.

The fastest way to correct vision problems is through glasses or eye-correction surgery. In fact, wearing glasses or corrective-vision surgery is the only way to fix eye issues caused by irregularities with the eyes themselves, such as astigmatism or presbyopia. However, if you incur daily strain on the eyes from overexposure to electronics and screens, eye exercises may be able to decrease the speed at which your eyes deteriorate. At the very least, these eye exercises will reduce headaches due to too much screen time.

Improve visual focus by blinking
Blinking is nature’s way of improving focus. Staring at one spot for too long makes it difficult to focus on something else. The easiest way to fix this problem is to blink. Every 15 to 20 minutes focus on an object in the distance and blink several times until your eyes can focus again. Then return to your task. You may also need to blink a few times after you look at the screen again to improve close-range focus.

Rest your eyes through palming
During a work break, you can use the techniques of palming to rest your eyes and reduce overall stress. This technique is helpful for reducing headache pain as well. Sit down and rest your elbows on your needs. Relax as much as possible. Close your eyes and cup your eyes with the palms of your hands. The heels of your hands should rest on your cheekbones and your fingers should touch your forehead. Do not apply pressure to the eyes themselves. Remain in this position for 3 to 5 minutes to give your eyes a break.

Train your eyes by zooming
Zooming your focus can help strengthen the eye muscles. Stretch out your arm and stick out your thumb as if you were trying to hitchhike. Focus on the tip of your thumb. Slowly bring your thumb in close to your body until it is about 3 inches away from your face. Stay focused on the thumb the whole time. Slowly move the thumb back to the outstretched position. Repeat 5 times, several times throughout the day.

Try visual tracing
Visual tracing may be able to help strengthen weak eye muscles. Think about a giant figure 8 turned onto its side. Trace the outline of the figure 8 with your eyes. Repeat about 10 times. Stop if you get dizzy.
These exercises may not correct your vision, but they will give your eyes a break from staring at a computer screen all day.  Try these exercises for several weeks and see if you notice any difference in your vision.

This is a guest-post by Ashley Williamson. Ashley is a part-time guest blogger and a health specialist currently writing on behalf of Health Ambition where you can find great content articles from health to diets and workouts.