Computer-Based Peripheral Vision Eye-Hand Coordination Exercises

Peripheral vision is an important element to visual acuity that is often ignored. Peripheral vision refers to visual information obtained at or near the limit of your vision. To test your peripheral vision, simply hold a hand out in front of your face and begin moving it to the side while keeping your eyes looking straight ahead. You should still be able to slightly see the position of your hand even when it is straight out to the side. If you did poorly, do not worry; you can improve your peripheral vision to some degree with regular training.

Vision Training

• Follow the Peripheral Clown link in the resources section for a simple exercise to help improve your peripheral vision. Stare directly into the center of the screen at the face of the clown. Although your eyes should be upon the clown, your overall focus should encompass everything occurring on the screen, noticing each of the colored rectangles as they fill the screen, even though you are not looking directly at them. To increase the usefulness of this exercise, click once on the mouse every time the final colored rectangle appears--when the display is taxing the limits of your peripheral vision. Simply clicking the mouse in conjunction with the appearance of the final red rectangle will help you increase your attention upon it, resulting in a broadening of your peripheral vision. Repeat this exercise for five to 10 minutes daily (or every other day), employing a partner to let you know how accurate you are being with your clicks.

Peripheral Vision Flash Training

• Practice this deceptively simple game to improve your overall hand-eye coordination and peripheral vision from the comfort of your computer chair. Simply click on the red square in the center of the screen. As soon as you click on the square, the blue blocks will be set into motion. Your goal is to maneuver the red square around the inside of the black border without coming into contact with either the border or the moving blue blocks. As the game proceeds, the speed of the blue blocks will escalate, necessitating faster reflexes in order to continue. This will train your peripheral vision and hand eye coordination by forcing you to recognize the movement patterns of the blocks from the corner of your eye while focusing primarily upon the red block to guide it to safety. Train with this game for five to 10 minutes per day.