How many times did your mother tell you, "Stop reading in the dark? You'll go blind?" as she hurried around the room turning on lights. Even though you tried to ignore her, your eyes were blurry and red and the book text was blurring a little, so you wondered. You needn't have worried. While you can get an annoying case of eyestrain, reading in the dark, or for that matter, watching television in the dark has no real effect on your eyes.

Trying to correct your own vision is a trend some ever-hopeful folks have embraced. Wouldn't it be great if you could hop out of bed, do a round of eye crunches, and be able to toss your glasses into the trash? Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest eye exercises can help common eye issues like nearsightedness or farsightedness. Research shows the notion of correcting your own vision is a pipe dream. Exercising your eyes can't hurt, but if you are having difficulty seeing, you need to visit your eye doctor.

If you are young or middle-aged, you may think that some eye problems, such as cataracts, are way down the road. Your eyes are still young and dewy, right? Cataracts can only happen after you are a senior citizen. In reality, cataracts can begin to cloud your lenses when you are 40 or 50, but they usually don't begin to cause vision problems until you are in your 60s or older. Like most ailments, there are exceptions, so cataracts can seriously affect your eyes long before you are eligible for the early bird discount. If you are seeing halos around lights at night, have blurry vision and experience double images, you may have troublesome cataracts that need to be removed. While some manufacturers produce eye drops that claim to cure cataracts, don't waste your money. They don't work. Your eye doctor will tell you when you need surgery to correct a cataract problem.