Eye Care Exercises

The eye contains many small muscles, and like the rest of the body, they work best when they are exercised. While eye exercises cannot correct all vision problems, consistent work will help preserve good vision and in some cases, improve it.

The 20 Rule

• For every 20 minutes of looking at a computer or television screen, focus on a point 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Focus

• Hold your finger or a pencil in front of your face close enough that you can still focus on it. Alternate your focus between the object and another object 10 feet away. Do this at least five minutes a day.

Stretch

• Every few hours, look up and down as far as possible. Follow this by rotating the eyes in a wide circle in either direction.

Tracking

• Covering one eye, extend the other arm and move it up, then outward in a quarter-circle arc before returning it to the starting point. Focus on the thumbnail and follow its path moving just the eyeball. Do this four to six times for each eye.

Relaxation

• After each exercise, close the eyes tightly for several seconds before opening them normally. This will relax the muscles.