Eyesight outdoors

We just came back from a holiday in Greece, and I noticed remarkable sense of wellbeing, especially when we were on Andros Island. My menopausal symptoms subsided, I slept well, and my eyesight felt incredibly clear and sharp.

Maybe it’s not so surprising, as we swam every day and had no work stress, but I believe there was a key factor to these remarkable health improvements. We stayed in places that had a stunning view of the valley and the sea, and almost every day we watched the sunrise and sunset.

These transitional phases are referred to as the golden hour; a magical time when the sun is low in the sky, creating a soft warm golden light. It’s a great time for photography but I like to simply witness nature’s beauty unfold. The light and colours continuously change, and the sky and the landscape look incredibly beautiful. It’s also a prime time to observe wildlife, we saw bats, moths and lots of interesting birds including Eleonor’s falcon and Bonelli’s eagle.

The morning sun helps to trigger the circadian rhythm, which helps you to feel awake in the morning and sleepy in the evening. A circadian rhythm is body's natural, 24-hour internal clock that controls cycles of sleep, primarily driven by light and darkness.

Golden hour is also an ideal time to stock up your vitamin D and to do sunning because the sunlight is less intense. Sunning is a natural vision improvement technique that involves facing the sun with your eyes closed and gently moving your head from side to side. The idea is to gently stimulate the eyes with light and darkness. Ideally, you want to follow sunning with palming. You’ll feel warm and relaxed – like you’re taking in the glow of the sunlight.

It’s well known that looking into the distance is great for your eyesight, but it’s even better when it’s interesting and beautiful. Just like our mind and body, our vision functions better when we’re relaxed and focused.

We stayed in Andros Island for 9 days, on the way back to the UK we spent couple of nights in Athens. Athens is a busy congested city, the opposite from the healthy island vibe.  It was oppressively hot during the day and to escape from the heat, we often found ourselves inside air-conditioned buildings. I noticed straight away my stress level rising and menopausal symptoms creeping back. My sleep pattern became worse, and my eyes became sore, red and blurry.

I’m now back in the UK and even though it’s getting cold, I’ve been trying to spend more time outside. I even catch the sunrise and sunset when I can. When I do, I feel more energised and relaxed.