Is exercising the wrong way putting your eyes at risk?
It's not that uncommon of a thing-you're lifting weights, and the weights are so heavy, or you're so into your workout that suddenly you realize you're holding your breath. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong. Turns out, holding your breath while you work out can actually increase your risk of a dangerous eye disease-glaucoma.
In a recent study out of Brazil, researchers monitored the workout habits of 30 men, agest 18 to 40, measuring the amount of pressure in their eyes while they were bench pressing weights. None of the men had glaucoma-at least not during the study-but the researchers found that the men's eye pressure increased when the men held their breath while training.
Here's where things get risky: Research shows that certain kinds of glaucoma is more common among people who are subjected to frequent changes in eye pressure.
(Interestingly enough, similar results have been found in people who play high-resistance wind instruments or those with asthma or intestinal or urinary tract obstructions that cause them to strain, increasing eye pressure.)
When it comes to weight lifting, the best thing to do is practice what I like to call vigorous moderation. You see, obviously you need to lift weights regularly to get the kind of results you're hoping for. But sometimes it's possible to get so into a workout that you might not notice that you're actually hurting your body as much as helping it.
That's why it's so important to monitor your breathing while you're exercising. After all, poor breathing during exercise won't just cause problems down the road. It can also cause you to grow faint or dizzy, and even pass out.
