Will Looking at the Sun Permanently Damage Your Eyes?

Sun gazing is an ancient pastime.  However, a large number of people are now sun gazing because they believe that the power of the sun is able to help them with various illnesses, and even help them lose weight.  Sun gazers believe that they need to have less food because they are able to get more nourishment from the sun.  Some gaze at the sun as part of their spiritual beliefs.

Some doctors believe that the reason the flu virus is so prevalent in the winter months is that people are often indoors and they do not have access to as much sunshine, which provides vitamins such as vitamin D by exposing our skin to sunlight.

However, health professionals believe that gazing at the sun can cause extreme and permanent damage to the eyes.  Indeed, most parents tell their children never to look directly at the sun because it can cause so many problems with the eyes, even blindness in some extreme cases.  We are always warned against looking at the sun during a solar eclipse for the same reason.

It goes without saying that you should never under any circumstances look through binoculars or a telescope at the sun if you don’t want to instantly fry your retinas.

While sun gazing may seem a bit esoteric – some people even believe that it can increase a person’s psychic ability – it is something that you will have to try for yourself to see if it works for you.

If you decide that you want to try sun gazing, you need to be very careful.  It can cause retinal damage if you do it the wrong way.  Experts believe that you can safely gaze for the hour after the sun rises and the hour before it sets.  This is not something that you will want to try without proper instruction, though, and check with your optician immediately if you think you may have done permanent damage to your eyes.