How to Improve Eyesight With Exercises

If you currently wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, there are several common-sense eye exercises that work the extrinsic muscles that move the eyes. As you perform these eye exercises, maintain a relaxed demeanor as tension and stress in the face has an adverse effect on vision, as Aldous Huxley points out in his classic, "The Art of Seeing."Dr. William Bates (1865-1930) in "Better Eyesight Without Glasses,' provides several exercises designed to strengthen the eyes and improve vision over time. The exercises below are adaptations of what both Huxley and Bates detail in their books.

Things You'll Need

• Brock string (optional)
• (1-2) 10 to 15-foot string or rope
• Several colored wood or plastic beads, smaller and larger sizes

Instructions

1. Begin with palming exercises to reduce tension in the eyes. Sitting comfortably in a chair and rub your hands together to create heat between them. Gently cup them over your eyes without touching or pressing on the eyes at all. Leave your hands there for 2 to 3 minutes. Lower your hands and rest for several minutes more.

2. As a way to maintain both good sight for close reading and for seeing far away, take time to intentionally move your eyes between these two extremes. Set up colorful objects at the farthest wall away from your desk at work. Several times a day glance up from your computer and look at the red book on the shelf on the far wall, or better still, see if you can distinguish the color of the leaves outside the window. Do this several times a day to avoid losing distance vision.

3. Make a Brock string. What you did in the step above can be done even more obviously with a Brock string. String several brightly colored smaller to larger-sized wood or plastic beads on a length of string or small rope that measures 10 to 15 feet. The beads can be spaced apart every 10 to 12 inches apart. If you are ambitious, make 2 Brock strings and tack each one on opposite walls so that they meet at the farthest wall.

4. Stand at least 15 feet away from the Brock strings. Glance at the bead closest to you and move your eyes to the opposite bead on the second Brock string. Then move your eyes to the first Brock string and continue so that your eyes are scanning, jumping back and forth between both strings.

5. Reaching the end of both Brock strings, pause and begin again. Repeat this several times for about 5 minutes. Rest. Repeat this scanning at least twice a day.

6. Test your newfound ocular strength in the real world. As you drive or simply walk, practice the scanning you did with the Brock string. Glance at the mailbox on your right then to the green bakery sign on your left then to the telephone at the end of the street. This is the normal scanning eye patterns of people with 20/20 vision.

Tips & Warnings

• These are general eye exercises appropriate for most people and they are not designed to replace regular medical exams or treatment if you have serious issues with vision. Always consult your ophthalmologist if you notice an obvious change in your sight.