The Habit to Stop By 50 to Protect Your Eyesight, According to Ophthalmologists

Emily Laurence

19 February 2025 at 4:25 pm·4-min read

As the saying goes, prevention is the best medicine—and it’s certainly true for eye health. Just like the rest of the body, it’s natural for vision to change as we age. Some changes are completely normal, such as losing focus on up-close objects and text and needing more light to see well. Other changes (such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma) are abnormal, but the risk becomes greater with age.

There is a lot you can do now to protect your eyesight in the future, making problems related to vision less likely. There’s one habit in particular ophthalmologists wish everyone would stop by 50 to protect their eyesight.

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How Eyesight Changes As We Age

“As we age, our eyes undergo several changes that can impact vision,” says Dr. James R. Kelly, MD, an ophthalmologist at Kelly Vision Center. Around age 45, Dr. Kelly says that many people begin to experience presbyopia, a condition where the eye’s lens becomes less flexible, making it harder to focus on close objects.

Dr. Wuqaas M. Munir, MD, an ophthalmologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, explains why focusing on up-close objects or text becomes more difficult with age, saying, “Our eye is like a camera, with the lens of the eye providing a significant amount of the focusing power. As we age, this lens starts to stiffen, and slowly loses the ability to refocus when we look at near objects.” He explains that this loss of focusing power is a natural change that usually starts around the age of 40. That’s why so many people 40 and older need reading glasses or bifocals.

“By age 60, the risk of cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration increases due to cumulative exposure to UV light, oxidative stress and other environmental factors,” Dr. Kelly says. He adds that dry eye syndrome also becomes more common due to hormonal changes and reduced tear production.

The #1 Habit To Stop by 50 to Protect Your Eyesight

If you are younger than 50, Dr. Kelly says that there is one habit it’s especially important to stop if you want to protect your eyesight in the future: smoking. While many people know that smoking negatively impacts the lungs and heart, Dr. Kelly says this habit is harmful to eye health too. “Smoking significantly increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and optic nerve damage, which can lead to blindness,” he says.

Dr. Kelly explains that the harmful chemicals in cigarettes contribute to oxidative stress and inflammation in the eyes, accelerating age-related vision loss. “Quitting smoking improves circulation, reduces inflammation and helps preserve vision for the rest of your life,” he says.

Don’t smoke? There’s another habit that's worth ditching: skipping your annual eye exams. “The single best way to protect eyesight is to see an eye doctor. By age 40, and most definitely by the age of 50, everyone should have a dilated eye exam by an eye care professional to catch any problems early,” Dr. Munir says.

Dr. Munir explains that health conditions including cataracts (cloudiness of the lens inside the eye), glaucoma and retinal changes from diabetes all start slowly and are difficult for someone to recognize without a thorough eye examination. “By catching these diseases early, vision loss can often be prevented. By the age of 50, an eye care professional may recommend more regular eye exams to monitor for any changes,” he says.

Besides keeping on top of your annual eye exams and avoiding tobacco use, both ophthalmologists say there are other ways to protect your vision. When you’re in the sun, both doctors recommend wearing UV-protected sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV exposure, which can contribute to cataract formations and retinal damage.

Both Dr. Kelly and Dr. Munir also say that maintaining a healthy diet supports eye health. “Nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamins C and E found in leafy greens, fish and citrus fruits support eye health and slow degeneration,” Dr. Kelly says.

If you have any chronic health conditions, Dr. Kelly says that doing what you can to manage your conditions will benefit eye health. “Diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol can damage blood vessels in the eyes, increasing the risk of vision loss. Keeping these under control helps protect eyesight,” he says.

Last, Dr. Kelly says to be mindful of your screen time. “Prolonged screen exposure can lead to digital eye strain,” he says. When you are using screens, he recommends using the 20-20-20 rule: looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes to reduce eye fatigue.

Having all of these habits in place will lower your risk of experiencing vision problems later in life. The sooner you adopt them the better!

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Sources

Dr. James R. Kelly, MD, ophthalmologist at Kelly Vision Center
Dr. Wuqaas M. Munir, MD, ophthalmologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center