Put Eye Health at the Top of the Nice List
‘Tis the season for creative gift giving and finding the best ideas out there to show your friends and family you care. For us, it’s always the right season to focus on eye health though! Since your eyes are so complex, there is no one way to exercise or strengthen them that helps them comprehensively. So, our team pulled together a different kind of “Gift Guide” that includes several types of activities and how they can improve your loved ones’ overall eye health in their own unique way.
Happy shopping!
All About the Details
Fans of the classic “Seek and Find” books like Where’s Waldo, “I Spy” or even Dr. Seuss’ Wacky Wednesday, should be happy to know that these activities are great for the eyes. While we may tend to associate them with children, they actually offer benefits to kids and adults alike. Training the eyes to focus in on small details and spot differences strengthens the eye muscles, stimulates the brain’s vision center and improves visual memory. Even though it’s an illustrated book, this 3-D “Seek and Find” seems like a great buy for anyone in the family. The Great Escape Pop-Up Search Book | Kids’ Gift Idea, Reading Education Gift | Uncommon Goods
Get Colorful
Coloring books have long been a way to relax and dive into a creative activity with the added benefit that even non-artists could enjoy them. Not everyone likes the feeling of starting with a blank canvas! With the surge in highly detailed, adult-focused coloring books in the last few years, there are now options out there for anyone to enjoy. Even better, coloring books are proven to relieve anxiety, which can have major impacts on your vision. High levels of stress and anxiety can be associated with tunnel vision, blurry vision, eye twitching and more! Here’s one of our favorites that combines coloring with fun architectural scenes to ease some stress. Cities Houses Castles Coloring Book for Adults: City | Etsy
Time for Some Cardio…and Rhythm
Eye health IS overall health. A healthy cardiovascular system is crucial for the longevity of your vision. Exercises like running, aerobics and dancing will lower the pressure in your eyes and improve blood flow to the optic nerve. Exercising also releases hormones and antioxidants that are known to help fight off a number of eye diseases like cataracts or glaucoma. While there is no shortage of options to get some cardio, we love the idea of giving the gift of dance! Combine exercise with a new skill that your loved one has (probably) always wanted to learn, and score these Jason Samuels Smith tap shoes from Bloch. Mens Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoes, Black | BLOCH USA (blochworld.com)
A New Way to Play Catch
Traditional activities that require and improve hand-eye coordination are incredibly beneficial to vision health. Combatting myopia (near-sightedness) is a priority for most eye doctors and simple, outdoor exercises like playing catch can help. Not only are there some cardiovascular benefits, but improved lighting by being outside and shifting focus from near to far distances regularly helps to keep eye muscles strong. Try a twist on the old school version of catch by picking up the Djubi Sling Ball. This lacrosse-style ball/racket game is fun for almost any age and doesn’t require a lot of strength to make the ball go far because of the elastic slingshot-esque ball. Blue Orange Djubi, Sling Ball Classic Games | Decathlon
Involve the Whole Family
When all else fails, if you are looking for a gift that will bring the family together and help keep everyone’s eyes seeing their best, a good board game is always an option. Shifting back and forth frequently from looking at small pieces and details to larger objects across the table or room, can improve visual acuity (the ability to see objects clearly) and visual fixation (the ability to aim the eyes accurately). Games that move fast can be a particularly good challenge for visual memory as well. If you’re up for a rowdy evening, Throw Throw Burrito is a fast-paced mixture of a board game with a little bit of dodgeball mixed in. Throw Throw Burrito | A dodgeball card game from the creators of Exploding Kittens
See Your Best
No matter who you are shopping for, there is no shortage of great gift ideas out there to keep them seeing their best. If you know someone with particular vision ailments that you would like to consider when purchasing your gift, reach out to an eye doctor near you for advice on just the right present.
