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9 Surprising Lifestyle Habits That Cause Eye Ageing
The delicate skin around your eyes is often the first to show signs of ageing. Wrinkles, fine lines, swollen undereyes, and dark circles are common concerns for many men and women.
While ageing is a natural process, certain lifestyle habits can accelerate the signs of ageing, making your eyes look older than they should. Let’s identify and address these habits so you can learn how to maintain youthful, vibrant eyes.
Signs of Eye Ageing
Before diving into the habits contributing to eye ageing, let’s understand the telltale signs:
- Fine lines and wrinkles: Also known as crow’s feet, these are small lines typically forming at the corners of the eyes. They are often the result of repetitive smiling, squinting or other facial expressions, combined with a natural decline in skin elasticity as we age.
- Dark circles: Dark circles can give the eyes a tired or hollow look. They are often caused by poor circulation, which pools blood under the eyes, which can appear bluish or purplish through the thin skin.
- Puffiness: Under-eye puffiness results from fluid retention, which can occur due to fatigue, allergies, excessive salt intake, or hormonal changes. With ageing, the muscles supporting the eyes weaken, and fat, once confined to the orbital area, can shift, creating a puffy or swollen appearance.
- Sagging skin: A loss of firmness in the skin around the eyes leads to sagging, which can make the eyes appear smaller and less bright. This occurs as collagen and elastin levels naturally decline with age, coupled with gravitational effects.
- Dryness: The skin around the eyes lacks oil glands, making it particularly prone to dryness. As the body’s natural hydration levels decline with age, the area may feel tight, flaky, or appear dull.
Now, let’s explore the surprising habits that may speed up these changes.
Excessive Screen Time
Many people spend several hours daily in front of screens—whether working on a computer, scrolling through a smartphone, or relaxing with TV. Staring at screens for extended periods forces your eyes to focus continuously, leading to strain and fatigue.Â
Over time, this can cause tension in the surrounding muscles, contributing to wrinkles and fine lines, particularly if you squint or rub your eyes to alleviate discomfort.
Solution
Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Take a 20-second break to look at something at least 20 feet away, every 20 minutes. This helps relax the eye muscles and reduce strain.
Poor Sleep Habits
Sleep is often called “nature’s healer,” playing a vital role in skin repair and rejuvenation. During deep sleep, the body undergoes restorative processes, including the generation of collagen and elastin, which maintain skin firmness and elasticity. However, inadequate or poor-quality sleep disrupts these essential processes, significantly impacting the delicate skin around the eyes.
Insufficient rest reduces oxygen flow to the skin, making it appear dull and lifeless. This lack of brightness around the eyes enhances signs of ageing, making fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin more noticeable.
Solution
Establish a regular sleep schedule of seven to nine hours daily to ensure your body gets enough time to complete its repair processes.
To create a comfortable environment, use blackout curtains, reduce noise, and keep your bedroom cool to promote uninterrupted sleep.
Sun Exposure
The sun is one of the common causes of premature skin ageing, and the delicate area around your eyes is particularly vulnerable. The skin in this region is thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your face, making it highly susceptible to UV damage.
UV rays permeate the skin and damage collagen and elastin, the structural proteins that maintain the skin’s firmness and elasticity. With prolonged exposure to the sun, this breakdown would cause fine lines, crow’s feet, and sagging skin, making the eyes look aged and tired.
Solution
Wear sunglasses that completely block UVA and UVB rays. Look for wraparound styles to shield the sides of your eyes and reduce squinting caused by bright light. Apply sunscreen on your face, including under your eyes, even on cloudy days.Â
Poor Diet
Your diet is critical to maintaining youthful skin, particularly around the eyes. The skin around this area is thinner and more delicate, making it more prone to damage caused by nutritional deficiencies and unhealthy eating habits.
A poor diet lacking in nutrients like vitamins A, C, E, and omega-3 fatty acids can weaken the skin’s structure and cause premature ageing. Processed foods, foods high in sugar and unhealthy fats exacerbate inflammation and collagen breakdown.
Solution
Limit sugary and processed foods, and adopt a diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and vitamins to nourish your skin from within.
Dehydration
Dehydration affects the skin’s elasticity and firmness. The thin skin around your eyes is more prone to moisture loss. When your skin lacks moisture in its deeper layers, it immediately reflects on your skin, making it look thinner and drier and fine lines and wrinkles more pronounced.
Dehydration can also lead to poor blood circulation, causing blood vessels under the eyes to become more visible. This creates dark circles and a tired, sunken look.
Solution
Drink at least two litres of water daily and use a hydrating eye cream to lock in moisture. You can also complement your hydration with water-rich foods such as cucumbers, watermelon, and oranges.
Stress
Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but chronic stress can ruin your skin. The effects of prolonged stress will show in the area around your eyes.
When stressed, your body produces high cortisol levels, the primary stress hormone. While cortisol helps your body respond to immediate challenges, elevated cortisol levels trigger a breakdown of collagen and elastin. The disintegration of these proteins causes wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin to form, especially around the eyes.
Solution
Put aside time for activities you enjoy, such as reading, gardening, or pursuing a hobby. Self-care helps lower stress and promotes a sense of well-being. Try incorporating stress-relief techniques like meditation, yoga, or deep breathing into your routine to manage stress.
Frequent Squinting
Squinting is a natural reflex to reduce glare or focus on something unclear. However, when done repeatedly, it significantly strains the delicate muscles around the eyes.
Squinting involves constantly contracting muscles around the eyes, creating creases in the overlying skin. As we age, the skin is less elastic and resilient, making it harder to smooth out these creases, which can form permanent lines.
Solution
If you frequently squint, consult an optometrist to check for uncorrected vision problems. Improving vision with prescription glasses or contact lenses can significantly reduce the need to squint.
LDM Eye Treatment
For those seeking professional solutions in Singapore, LDM Eye Treatment can rejuvenate the skin around the eyes.
Using dual-frequency ultrasound technology, this eye treatment stimulates fibroblasts to regenerate collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. The technology alternates between 3MHz and 10MHz frequencies, reaching deep into the dermis to:
- Restore skin volume: By encouraging hyaluronic acid production, LDM helps replenish the skin’s natural volume, reducing hollowness and improving overall texture.
- Reduce fine lines and wrinkles: The treatment smoothens out eye wrinkles, such as crow’s feet, by replenishing lost elasticity and hydration, leaving the skin looking refreshed and youthful.
- Lift and firm the skin: The micro-massage effect promotes blood circulation and muscle stimulation, providing an immediate lifting effect and long-term skin tightening.
- Renew skin’s youthful glow: Enhanced hydration, improved circulation, and activating essential proteins give the skin a radiant and luminous appearance.
For enhanced results, consider upgrading to LDM Triple Eye Treatment.
Why Choose LDM Triple?
Upgrading to LDM Triple Eye Treatment provides an enhanced solution for individuals with more complex skin concerns. The newest generation of LDM technology delivers even more targeted treatments for a broader range of issues, such as:
- Persistent eye puffiness
- Dark circles caused by poor circulation
- Severe loss of skin elasticity
LDM Triple amplifies the effects of standard LDM eye treatments by offering deeper penetration and customised care, ensuring optimal results tailored to individual needs.
Eye Treatment in Singapore
Ageing is inevitable, but you can take control of how your eyes age by addressing lifestyle habits and exploring effective treatments. Small, consistent efforts combined with professional care can make a difference, keeping your eyes youthful and radiant for years to come.
At SkinLab The Medical Spa, we understand the importance of specialised care for the delicate eye area. Our eye treatments in Singapore, such as LDM Eye Treatment and LDM Triple Eye Treatment, are designed to target signs of ageing, helping you achieve a youthful, refreshed appearance.