A Dangerous Habit: 5 Easy Ways To Stop Squinting

In everyday life, the ability to squint helps to protect the eyeball from the adverse effects of environmental factors. But if you start to constantly squint without the presence of any external stimuli, this may indicate a visual impairment.

With good vision, the beam of light passing through the optical system of the eye is focused strictly on the retina, providing a clear image. With such visual impairments as myopia, when light beams are focused not on the retina, but in front of it, or hyperopia, when focusing occurs behind the eyeball, visual acuity decreases.

So why are we squinting?

The retina has a central zone (fovea), which provides maximum visual acuity due to the accumulation of special photoreceptor cells - cones. Light rays penetrate the eyeball from all directions. Peripheral rays collect in front of or behind the retina, which results in a blurred image, while straight-ahead rays provide clarity.

During squinting, the size of the pupil and the area of the eyeball, on which light falls, decrease. As a result, the peripheral rays are cut off, and exclusively direct rays fall on the retina. As the pupil size decreases, the depth of field and visual acuity increase.

In addition to the appearance of early mimic wrinkles, squinting can lead to an even greater decrease in visual acuity, redness, burning sensation in the eyes, inflammation of the eyelids, headaches due to constant eye strain, so getting rid of the habit of squinting is an extremely important task that should not be postponed for later. So how do you stop squinting?

Wear lenses or glasses and don't forget about prevention

If you are worried about a constant squint, it is best to immediately contact a specialist to check your visual acuity, to identify the degree and type of impairment. If necessary, the ophthalmologist will prescribe glasses or lenses with the characteristics that suit you specifically. Do not forget about prevention: daily walks in the fresh air, gymnastics for the eyes (read also: "Osteopath's Tips: 15 Effective Exercises for Good Vision"), breaks from work with prolonged visual stress, as well as annual preventive examinations with an ophthalmologist are a guarantee the health of your eyes.

Use the black eye method

This method has long proven its effectiveness, so even athletes turn to it. They use it extensively when playing outdoors in sunny weather to reduce glare. Black stripes can be glued under the eyes with a special cosmetic glue.

Control the light in the room

One of the most common reasons for the habit of squinting is improperly adjusted indoor lighting. Remember that it should be bright enough, but not blind to your eyes (which also hurts your vision). It is also important to understand that for different tasks - reading, watching a movie, cooking - different lighting options are needed. Warm light is perfect for spending time in the living room and bedroom, and natural white light will be pleasing to the eye when reading, as it is not distorted and neutral for vision (see also: "Getting out of the twilight: how to correctly design apartment lighting").

Wear sunglasses

In sunny weather, it is very important to wear not just beautiful, but functional sunglasses, which should be chosen in accordance with a number of criteria. In order not to squint and to protect the eyes from the negative effects of UV rays, glasses must block up to 99% of the radiation (as a rule, they have a UV 400 mark). At the same time, lenses can be made of both glass and plastic, but have scratch resistance, high optical properties and abrasion resistance.

Determine the psychological cause of the squinting habit

Another common reason for the habit of squinting is the desire to block anxiety, stress and irritation, which also often translate into the desire to bite your nails, pull your hair, scratch, etc. action - it is possible that at this stage you cannot do without the observation of close friends or colleagues.

If you have been able to pinpoint the root cause, but have not been able to get rid of it, it is important to go further and try to replace the habit of squinting, caused by a particular emotion, with a more harmless one. Reward yourself with something pleasant for each successful "substitution" - so you are more likely to consolidate a new behavioral pattern and get rid of the squint that spoils your beauty and health of your eyes.