6 Effective Eye Exercises to Improve Vision
Are your eyes feeling strained after long hours staring at the screen?
In today’s age, where long screen hours dominate our lives, vision problems and fatigue are commonly experienced.
With proper eye care and simple eye exercise, one can improve their vision and prevent straining.
According to a 2022 review study, these exercises can treat and relax ciliary muscle spasms.
This article discusses easy-to-practice eye exercises to improve vision.
Focus exercises (near and far focus)
Focus exercises can strengthen weak eye muscles and their focal ability.
They involve improving eye coordination and increasing the flexibility of eye muscles.
The exercises work by challenging your focus.
You can practice focus exercises for improvement in the following ways,
Changing focus exercises
You can follow the below steps,
- Read a text, book, article, or newspaper for a few minutes
- Now focus on something else about 10–20 feet in front of you for a few seconds and come back to your text
- Take deep breaths between focusing on the text and the object 10-20 feet away from you
Focusing on a single object
Hold one arm straight out before you while keeping your body calm and breathing steady.
Make a loose fist with your thumb facing upward, and focus on the thumb.
Then, move the thumb toward your nose until it’s out of focus.
Take a moment to breathe, then gently move your arm back to the point where it is extended while keeping your attention on the thumb.
Practice the exercise for ten repetitions.
Swinging exercises
Swinging exercises involve rhythmic movements of the eyeballs to improve vision.
They help in strengthening the iris for the focusing problem.
Some examples of swinging exercises include,
- Swinging back and forth on a swing or hammock
- Spinning in a chair or on a playground carousel
- Walking while looking at a swinging object, such as a pendulum or metronome
Sunning exercises
Sunning is a natural relaxation technique for your eyes.
It helps our eyes be flexible and keeps the light-sensing organs in motion.
This helps get the eyes used to handling light while simultaneously relaxing all the muscles in and around the eye.
Mal-illumination means poor lighting for a specific task or in an area. It involves inadequate illumination, poor distribution, shadows, or improper job lighting.
Mal-illumination can cause eyestrain, poor vision, and discomfort. Sunning exercise can help treat the symptoms of Mal-illumination.
You may perform the exercise twice a day for five minutes.
Begin with 1 minute of Sunning exercise every day at sunrise and sunset and take up to 5 minutes daily.
You can follow the below steps,
- Close your eyes and face the sun
- Feel the sunlight on your eyelids while breathing deeply
Do not exercise in the bright sunlight.
Palming exercises
Palming is a relaxing and beneficial exercise for the eyes which comforts the muscles and nerves in the eyes to reduce eye strain.
You simply place your palms over the eyes with fingers overlapped over the forehead blocking out any light.
Do not press on the eyes or put any pressure on the eyes; simply block out all the light.
20-20-20 rule
The exposure of your eyes to screens for longer hours can cause eye strain which can ultimately lead to Computer Vision Syndrome.
Organizations like the American Optometric Association (AOA) have claimed that the 20-20-20 rule can prevent eye strain.
The practice breaks your eyes from long screen exposure and strengthens your eye muscle.
The rule says to take a 20-second break after 20 minutes of using a screen by focusing on an object 20 feet away.
It relaxes the eye muscle and also helps in improving vision.
Figure eight
Figure eight exercises help to improve eye coordination, focus, and muscle flexibility.
It involves eye movement, brain stimulation, and relaxing your eye muscles.
To perform the Figure 8 exercise, you can follow the below steps,
- Find a visual target: Choose a visual target, such as a small object or a letter on a page.
- Trace Figure 8: With your eyes, trace the shape of Figure 8 around the visual target. Make sure to trace Figure 8 in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.
- Repeat: Repeat the exercise several times, taking breaks if your eyes become fatigued.
Conclusion
Practicing eye exercises regularly can help improve vision and reduce eye discomfort.
In many cases, they might also delay the need for corrective lenses and glasses.
Those wearing glasses might not magically improve their vision, but they can alleviate eye pain and strain symptoms.
If you are working long hours in front of a screen, studying for exams, or want to take steps to care for your eyes, these exercises are worth incorporating into your lifestyle.
Each exercise offers several benefits to maintaining optimal eye health, from sunning and palming to focusing techniques.
Consulting an ophthalmologist should be your primary step if you are still experiencing strains, blurred vision, or eye pain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to improve eyesight naturally?
No, you cannot naturally improve your eyesight, especially in Astigmatism or presbyopia cases. Eye exercises may enhance eye health and reduce eye strain. However, you should consult an ophthalmologist before incorporating any lifestyle changes.
Can eye exercises remove glasses?
No, eye exercises cannot permanently remove glasses. They can strengthen eye muscles and enhance vision but cannot fix refractive problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, or Astigmatism. Exercise may improve vision slightly, but it is best to consult an eye doctor for the correct treatment.
What is the best exercise to improve eyesight?
There is no single best exercise to improve eyesight. Regularly practicing exercises like sunning, palming, focus exercise, and swinging exercise can strengthen the eye muscles. Following the 20-20-20 rule can prevent eye strains. It is best to consult a doctor if you are experiencing persistent vision problems.
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