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Exercises to Improve Eye Sight

While eyesight tends to naturally degrade with age, you do not have to sit back and let it fade without a fight. Don't expect miracles, but regular practice of eye exercises can help you retain as much visual acuity as is reasonably possible. With lifestyles that include more and more time staring at computer screens, caring for your eyes has never been more important.

  1. Eyes and Aging

    • As you age, expect your eyes to naturally decline in numerous functions. For example, there is a natural age-related decrease in your ability to distinguish colors, judge distance, cope with glare and focus. This occurs when an eye loses its overall flexibility, becoming less able to take in and separate between various ocular stimuli.

    Vision Exercises

    • Your eyes contain muscles that can be trained like any other segment of the body. Vision exercises are an attempt to exploit the adaptability of the human physique to allow you to retain superior vision for as long as possible. While you probably should not expect to forgo your glasses or contacts entirely, it is possible that through regular training you can improve your eyesight to some degree.

    Sample Vision Exercise--Focusing

    • One simple exercise to improve your ocular capabilities is called "near and far focusing." As the name implies, to perform this exercise just alternate your vision rapidly between an object that is close at hand and one that is 20 to 30 feet away. This will help alleviate some of the stress brought on by staring at a fixed distance, such as a computer screen, for a good portion of the day.

    Sample Vision Exercise--Zooming

    • Another vision exercise is called zooming. To perform zooming, sit in a chair and hold your thumb up to your nose, focusing on it. While keeping your focus, move your arm slowly out to its full length and then slowly bring it back in toward your nose again. This will train your eyes to keep their focus solidly on an object through a variety of depths.

    Warnings

    • Be aware that many individuals selling these type of eye improvement programs often exaggerate their claims greatly. The "See Clearly Method" was charged with misleading advertising and found guilty by the Iowa courts. As part of its restitution package, it had to pay $200,000. If the claims of these companies seem too good to be true, they often are.

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