Exercising your eyes won’t help prevent eye conditions like astigmatism, myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia, or diseases like cataracts, macular degeneration, or glaucoma. It may, however, help keep your eyes comfortable when you need them.
Long drives, reading on screens or pages, or other activities can strain your eyes to create symptoms like dryness, blurred vision, and headaches. Performing eye exercises may help in some cases.
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Here are a few to try.
Focus Change
Perform this exercise from a seated position to avoid a fall.
Hold your index finger a few inches from the eye and really focus on it. Hold your focus as you slowly move it away from your face. Next, look away into the distance for a moment before refocusing on your finger and slowly bringing it back towards your eye.
When it gets closer, look away and focus on something in the distance. Repeat three times.
Near and Far Focus
This is another exercise to help with focus and should also be performed while seated.
Hold your thumb about 10-12 inches from your face and focus on it for 15 seconds. Then find an object 10 to 20 feet away and focus on it for 15 seconds. Return focus to your thumb and repeat five times.
Figure Eight
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Like the other exercises, this one should also be performed from a seated position.
Focus on a point on the floor about 10 feet in front of you. Trace an imaginary figure eight with your eyes, and keep tracing it for 30 seconds before switching directions.
These exercises won’t eliminate a need for glasses or other corrective lenses, or fix any chronic conditions, but they might help refresh your eyes to eliminate discomfort or difficulty focusing.
About eight years ago, Mat Lecompte had an epiphany. He’d been ignoring his health and suddenly realized he needed to do something about it. Since then, through hard work, determination and plenty of education, he has transformed his life. He’s changed his body composition by learning the ins and outs of nutrition, exercise, and fitness and wants to share his knowledge with you. Starting as a journalist over 10 years ago, Mat has not only honed his belief system and approach with practical experience, but he has also worked closely with nutritionists, dieticians, athletes, and fitness professionals. He embraces natural healing methods and believes that diet, exercise and willpower are the foundation of a healthy, happy, and drug-free existence.
