What do sports and eyes have to do with each other?

When we think about our eye health, we usually focus first on excessive screen time, the right prescription, or our next eye exam. But there’s one important factor that’s often overlooked: exercise. Even a short workout, a brief bike ride, or a walk in the fresh air can do more for your eyes than you might think in your daily life.

Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself: After a long workday filled with intense concentration, few breaks, and even more screen time, not only do your mind and body feel tired, but your eyes often do too. This is exactly where exercise can provide a soothing balance. It gets your circulation going, supports blood flow, and thus also nourishes the delicate structures within the eye.

It’s also interesting to note that a recent review from 2024* links physical activity to various aspects of eye health, including dry eyes, nearsightedness, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Of course, this doesn’t mean that exercise replaces medical treatment. But it can be a valuable part of a lifestyle that benefits your eyes.

That is exactly what this blog series is about: Which sports are particularly beneficial for the eyes? What is important to consider with certain eye conditions? And where is it worth taking a closer look before simply getting started? In the next posts, we’ll explore these topics in a practical, easy-to-understand way—without the jargon.

Because often it’s not the big changes, but the small, regular things that make a difference in the long run. For me, exercise is definitely one of them.

Quelle: Pucker et al., 2024., Kaur et al., 2022.