The Body Part we Ignore Most in our Self-Care Routines.

 {Partner}

Via Gunnar Optiks

This is a post written by Gunnar Optiks—an elephant partner. We’re honored to work with anyone who is this dedicated to restoring and protecting not just our eyes, but our whole healthy selves. ~ Ed.

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We have never been as invested in our well-being as we are now.

We meditate, hit up weekly yoga classes, pencil in meatless Mondays, invest in organics, count our steps, prioritize skin-care, book massages—we’re practically self-care superheroes.

Clearly, we’ve realized that we’re in this body for life and it deserves the best.

Except, we neglect a particularly special part of our bodies. No, not just neglect—abuse.

Our eyes are at the bottom of the body-love list…if they get included at all.

We stare at devices all day long.

And we can’t just call it a bad habit anymore; for most of us, screen-time is required in order to function in society—at work, to do our banking, to communicate, and for entertainment. We move from our laptops to our phones to our TVs—from the moment that morning alarm rings until we hit the sack…and (ahem, guilty), even after we’re already in bed.

And there are some seriously beastly consequences for this.

First, our devices emit “blue light“—something you’ve probably already heard about in passing.

Many of us assume that blue light is just like sunlight, providing energy to stay awake during the day—like a daylight equivalent of a cup of coffee. But, while that is true, it’s not the whole story.

Our eyes help to regulate many of our body functions. And the blue light we take in from our devices is much stronger than what we’d get from normal amounts of daylight—just think about how bright our screens need to be for us to see them properly.

Exposure to this kind of light for prolonged periods (whether we spend the weekend binge-watching “Girlboss” or just work a typical eight-hour day) affects our circadian rhythm, leading to a whole host of related side effects like depression, hormonal imbalances, and digestive issues.

And, the long-term disruption of our sleep cycles leads to a build-up of neurotoxins, making it even harderto fall asleep, impairing our memory, and increasing our chances of injury and disease. Not to mention how much less patience we have for our families when we’re sleep-deprived.

Blue light can also damage our retinas, speed up age-related macular degeneration, and cause cataracts. Our risk of eye disease increases by 12 percent. None of that sounds like a walk in the park.

Additionally, our intense focus is causing further damage to our eyes.

Digital eye-strain is a real thing, affecting 70 percent of the population. Our eyes, the “windows to our soul” are not built to focus so acutely for extended periods, yet we spend most of our waking hours devouring words, images, and videos, and hardly giving our peepers a rest.

It’s not surprising that by noon, we’re already fatigued, nursing a headache, and unable to concentrate. After a full day at work, putting our eyes through hyper-focus boot camp, we’re left with blurred or double vision, dry eyes, vertigo, and headaches—yet, we still push on with late night TV and Snapchat sessions.

Added up, all of these negative impacts are sobering. We’re affected at work, we’re affected at home, we’re affected long-term and short-term—from something that has become the reality of everyday living.

Okay, so it’s obvious that we need to make some drastic changes. Not just for the sake of our vision—which we take for granted—but because our whole bodies are affected.

Our grandparents might sagely advise we simply put down the devices—but let’s get honest with ourselves. We’re a hard-working, social, intelligent society that has come a long way thanks to technology, and we’re not just going to power off.