Your eyes are always working for you. They are constantly taking in images and sending them to the brain for interpretation. As you age, however, your eyes become increasingly prone to vision problems. Here are four things you can do for your eyes to keep them healthy.

Play Video Games

Gamers rejoice. It turns out that playing video games improves something called contrast sensitivity function. This contrast sensitivity is what allows you to read in low light levels and drive at night. It is also an ability known to fade with age. Video games improve this ability while also giving your eyes practice with watching several objects at once and noticing important details when the action is moving quickly. To reap the benefits, however, you’ll have to play fast-paced games like shooters and games heavy in real-time combat. The Sims won’t get the job done.

Embrace Healthy Living

Keeping your eyes healthy requires the same fitness regimen as keeping your body healthy. First, you’ll need to eat right. Your eyes need lots of the nutrients found in carrots, red peppers, spinach, yams, broccoli, strawberries and citrus fruit. Fitness requires daily exercise, too. To exercise your eyes, warm them up by rubbing your palms together and placing them over your eyes a few times. When you’re ready, roll your eyes clockwise 10 times and then counterclockwise 10 times. Any teenager can demonstrate this technique for you. Next, hold a pen at arm’s length. Stay focused on it as you slowly bring it within 6 inches of your face and back to arm’s length again. Repeat this exercise 10 times. Remember your workout partner, too. Wellness visits with the doctor are just as important for your eyes as they are for the rest of your body. Your eyes need periodic checkups at an eye clinic in order to make sure everything is on track. Your doctor can also spot and solve small problems before they become big ones.

Stop Smoking

Cigarettes are just as bad for your eyes as they are for your lungs. Smokers are far more likely to experience macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts at any age. Professionals, like those at Cambridge Institute for Better Vision know that the more you smoke, the greater your risk of developing these and other vision problems will be. The good news is that if you quit smoking, you greatly reduce your risk of eye problems. Even if you’ve smoked for a long time, quitting can drop your risk almost as low as a non-smokers.

Wear Shades

Sunglasses aren’t about looking cool. Okay, maybe they are, but they do more than just enhance your look. When shopping for sunglasses, look for a pair that looks good and that is capable of blocking both UVA and UVB rays. These harmful rays can cause damage to your eyes, ultimately leading to macular degeneration, cataracts and eye growths called pterygiums. Pterygiums are hard to pronounce and can change the shape of your cornea, leading to blurred vision caused by astigmatism.

To see how important your eyes are, you need only close them for a moment while going about your daily tasks. A decrease in or loss of vision is a potentially life-altering event and one best avoided whenever possible. Fortunately, just a few simple tweaks to your daily routine are all it takes to help protect your eyes and keep them healthy.