Primetime Living 2.22.26 - Flipbook - Page 22
22 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, February 22, 2026
Eye Health
Continued from page 6
The Importance of Sleep
Continued from page 11
up one day and there’s 10 or 20 or 100
new floaters, or they’re a lot bigger, a lot
denser, or they look really different. In this
case, call your ophthalmologist and ask
to come in and get checked out quickly,”
Mohammed notes.
“Other common conditions that we
treat, especially from a retinal perspective, are things like retinal vein occlusions,
diabetic retinopathy, or retinal arterial
occlusions, which are all kinds of blood
vessel problems in the back of the eye.
One of the more sudden changes that
people may notice is sudden vision loss.
Basically, the eye goes dark for a few
minutes and sometimes it goes dark and
comes back fine, which can cause of
false sense of security. If your vision goes
dark completely in one eye, that’s definitely something that should be checked
on quickly.”
Mohammed. “There are now smaller and
newer instruments that help us do the
more delicate maneuvers of the surgery
with more precision and get people seeing better a little bit sooner and seeing
better overall.”
He adds that there are several new
medications that can be used for diabetes that help control the conditions for a
longer period of time and require fewer
shots, which sometimes even result in
improved vision in the long term.
“My particular area of interest and
research is in imaging, and there are a
number of new imaging technologies that
we’re using to understand why people
get certain conditions like retinal attachments or diabetic retinopathy that causes
a retinal detachment. This will help in
prevention and early intervention efforts,”
Mohammed says.
Technological and Medical
Advancements Lead the Way
“One of the things I like most about
ophthalmology and retina in particular
is that there are always new areas of
growth in treatment plans. There are two
main conditions that I treat with surgery
– retinal detachments from retinal holes
or tears and, more commonly, diabetic
retinopathy. Diabetes in later stages can
cause a lot of bleeding, retinal detachments and glaucoma, which many times
can only be treated with surgery,” says
Early Detection is the Key
Mohammed cannot stress enough the
importance of routine eye exams and
how, especially as you age, they can
detect eye conditions that can be treated.
“Having those regular eye checkups is
really important because a lot of retinal
conditions can be detected early on, and
the sooner you can treat it, the better likelihood that people will end up with better
vision, and we can keep people seeing
well for a long time.”
less nights and weary mornings can
become more frequent as we get older
and our sleep patterns change.
“Later in life there tends to be a
decrease in the number of hours slept.
There are also some changes in the way
the body regulates circadian rhythms.
This internal clock helps your body
respond to changes in light and dark.
When it undergoes a shift with age, it
can be harder to fall asleep and stay
asleep through the night.
“We all have trouble sleeping from
time to time, but when insomnia persists
day after day, it can become a real problem. Beyond making us tired and moody,
a lack of sleep can have serious effects
on our health, increasing our propensity
for obesity, heart disease, and type 2
diabetes.”
To get a routine that works for you,
create your own that includes these
eight elements. We are all different; do
what works for you.
1. Exercise
2. Reserve bed for sleep and sex
3. Keep it comfortable
4. Start a sleep ritual
5. Eat – but not too much
6. Avoid alcohol and caffeine
7. De-stress
8. Get checked
Discoveries
Two recent studies into sleep point
out how important good sleep habits
are. One found a possible connection
between irregular sleep and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Prior to this
study, irregular sleep duration and time
were not considered risk factors for
CVD. Now, the researchers concluded
that those with the most irregular sleep
schedules were more than twice as likely
to develop cardiovascular disease than
those with more regular sleep patterns.
Since this was an initial study, further
research will follow.
In another study published in 2024,
researchers analyzed sleep data from
more than 88,000 adults in the United
Kingdom and assigned “sleep regularity”
scores to all of them. Those who scored
lowest, meaning they had the most
irregular sleep schedules, were about 50
percent more likely to develop dementia
than those who scored in the middle of
the range.
Here in Maryland, both MedStar
Health and University of Maryland
Medical Center have sleep disorders
clinics and do studies on sleep. If you
think you need additional assistance,
either of these is a good place to start.
Once you understand how important
good sleep is for your overall health, you
can see why it is worth taking time to
create your own routine. Sweet dreams.
