Improve your vision with eye exercises


Have you ever heard those radio ads where an enthusiastic voice will tout the merits of eye exercises? I’ve always wondered if those work. My friend Bryan also wonders if wearing glasses worsens your vision.

One site I visited said this:

Eyeglasses and contacts only act as band-aids. They don’t improve your eyesight. And various studies show that your eyesight can rapidly worsen due to relying on eyeglasses and contacts to see.

Here are a couple of sites that talk about eye exercises. What do you think?


14 responses to “Improve your vision with eye exercises”

  1. I’ve never tried any of these methods, but I do think there’s credibility behind it. I also think getting in an environment that’s peaceful, clean and relaxed for an extended period also works.
    For example, last summer I went on a cruise. By the second full day of being out in the open, clean blue water with no email to check or clients to deal with, no computer monitor or florescent lights, no pollen dripping from the trees and plenty of vitamin D from exposure to the sun, I was able to go without my glasses (which I typically wear all day, everyday) for the rest of the week without any problems.

  2. Oh wow, that is very interesting. So have you ever thought about taking vitamin D supplements and getting air purifiers and trying to replicate that experience as much as you possibly can?

  3. We do what we can to keep our home a relaxed and clean environment, but I think it would be nearly impossible to try and replicate a cruise experience at home enough to get the same results.

    Besides, I think there is some psychological things (maybe environmental) to get past as well. For instance, as soon as we got back home, I started sneezing and feeling burdened as I started contemplating everything I would now have to deal with upon returning from my vacation. This even though we have a very nice house and home and I was very happy to be able to sleep in my own bed and see the kids again.

  4. Thanks for the post, Chris, as this is something that concerns me. My eyesight has definitely worsened since I first got my glasses about eight years ago, when I could read text, both far and near, without my glasses. Now I cannot.

    In addition, I’ve received mixed responses from my eye doctors. Some would say to take my glasses off for a bit and let them rest. Others would say that it doesn’t matter whether I do that or not.

    I would be interested to find out more about this.

  5. I’m totally interested in finding more about this as well. After some investigation it would seem that the See Clearly method is under some scrutiny and they’re being sued by the Iowa Attorney General.

    From what I can tell the other product has some potential. I’ve emailed someone that was going to test it out and will let you know if I hear back from them in a timely manor. If not I may just have to take them up on their 6 month money back offer.

  6. I am currently looking at rebuildyourvision.com. You can request a sampling of their tests via email. I have tried the two they have sent so far and I do notice that my focus is better. (Already had lasik, but my son is probably going to need glasses soon and I’d like to delay that as long as possible) I’m not sure if I’m ready to throw money at these folks yet. I’ve researched some of the testimonials they list and it appears some of those people actually exist.

    I would also welcome any information on that program.

  7. These methods are all based on the “Bates Method”. This guy came up with the method many many years ago. Its a real thing and there are lots of books etc. out there. Just look on any site that sells books and search on “Bates Method”. Most programs found this way are around $35 vs. the overly inflated price of See Clearly Method. The hard part to these methods is that they count on you going withut your glasses to actually work on the muscles. I couldn’t do that and drive, so I chose Ortho-K.

    Ortho-K or Corneal Molding involves wearing specially fitted gas-permeable contacts for a few hours a day if astigmatism to overnight for nearsightedness. The rest of the time, the person can see quite well. My vision is now 20-25 with this method. I wear my lenses 3 hours a day and am free from anything the rest of my 24 hours. I love it!

  8. Stephanie, thanks for the info.

    Just a word of caution, I have a friend that is almost blind from wearing the overnight contacts. Somehow the contacts developed an ulcer in the eye. Watch out!

  9. I am presently doing eye exercises to try to improve my vision. I created a blog where I record my progress with the exercises.

    I have noticed that I can focus better as well as my eyes seem more relaxed.

    Other people (who have also experienced improvements) have posted comments about their experiences as well. You can check it out at:

    http://improvingmyeyesight.com/blog

  10. Hey, I just wanted to throw in my two cents about eye exercises. I used to have a lazy eye as a kid but managed to get rid of it through eye exercises. They definitely work to sharpen the direction of your eyes, if not your actual vision. What I mean is that I couldn’t see things more clearly, but I could focus my eyes together on one spot more effectively after the exercises than before.

  11. I have been doing an eye exercise for the past week now using a chart called a “tibetan wheel”. I have noticed that I no longer need my stronger reading glasses for normal reading activities during the day, such as computer work and medium to close work around the house. I still need the stronger glasses at night when reading in bed but I really think that my vision has improved. I am continuing my investigations with great interest. Will let you know if improvements continue.

  12. I have been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in my right ey a few months ago. The doctors would like me to have my eye removed completely.
    Will eye exercises help me in any way to improve my vision. At the moment my eyesight is very blurry.
    I would like nothing better than to advise my doctor that I am on the mend and my eyesight has improved.

    Fiona

  13. Please be careful to not get confused when talking about eye exercises. There are different types of eye exercises for different problems.

    The refraction of the eye causing Myopia (Near-sightedness) and Hyperopia (Far-sightedness) is caused by a ‘misalignment’ of the length of the eye ball and the curvature of the cornea (front clear part of the eye). Think of a magnifying glass and a piece of paper in the sun. If the paper is to near or to far from the magnifying glass the light won’t focus properly. Now unfortunately for the Bates system neither the tissue of the eyeball or the cornea contains muscle fibre. Therefore no amount of exercise can change the shape of the eyeball or the cornea.

    Your prescription is based mainly on genetics and to a much less degree to environment. The typical Miopia script will manifest when we start puberty (age 10-13). This is when the body starts to releases huge amounts of growth hormone. The current thinking is that there is miscommunication between the eye-brain-hormone feedback system and the eyeball length increases to much due to excess growth hormone being release in the eye, when production should have stopped. This process carries on to about 25-28 years of age when the body stops to produce our growth hormones. This is typically why nearsighted people glasses tend to increase every 1 to 2nd year. It is important to note that wearing spectacle lenses or not has very little effect on this process. Except that the child can’t see in school into the distance which might affect their school performance. There is a lot of research to see how ‘Myopia creep’ can be stopped; this process is called Myopia control. At the moment our best option might be Orthokeratology, but the verdict s still out. To read more on Ortho-K visit the website http://www.okcompany.info.

    Hyperopia should not be confused with Presbyopia which affects the 40+ of age. Presbyopia is when the near focussing lens of the eye starts to loose flexibility and people have difficulty focussing on near objects. Again this is not a muscle problem. The muscles work fine; it is the lens material which is not flexing. One major factor that influences the flexibility of the eye is UV exposure. People living closer to the equator have this problem earlier than people living closer to the poles. Other factors include smoking, diabetes, genetics and trauma.

    Eye exercise can be beneficial for:

    1. Exercising the 6 outer muscles of the eye.
    1a.One is for remedial purposes. This is beneficial for squint eyes, providing factors like prescription and nerve palsies are corrected. The best results occur for children under 6 years of age.
    1b.Performance enhancement. This is typically done for speed readers and athletes. Doing specific exercises, much more complex that Bates system, can enhance eye tracking and hand eye performance.

    2.Internal lens focussing muscle
    2a.Remedial: Children with squints and high Hyperopic prescriptions. Again it is important that the eye prescription is corrected to get maximum results.
    2b.Performance enhancement: Typically for reading and hand eye coordination improvements.

    Computers and the eye also hold misperceptions. Computer work does not cause damage to the eye; it will however place muscular strain on the focus system of the eye. The same way that lifting weights in the gym will tire the legs and the arms. It is therefore important to take regular breaks and relaxing the eye muscles, same as taking breaks when lifting weights. The eye muscles relax when you look further than 6 meters/20 feet away. For more information Google “Visual Terminal Stress”

    I hope this will shd some light on the topic.

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