How to Get Back Your Depth Perception

Depth perception, for the most part, can be detected with just one eye, but the difference between the two eyes is what gives us a better grasp of depth. With each eye interpreting a scene from a slightly different angle, the brain determines the difference as a clearer interpretation of depth between the two images. Vision is mainly a learned sensory response, so if there are some issues with your depth perception, you can retrain your eyes to focus better to get the sensory functioning working more efficiently.

Things You'll Need

  • Eye patch
  • Flashlight
  • Pen
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Instructions

    • 1

      Retrain your non-dominant eye. You tend to use one eye more than the other, making the non-dominant one kind of lazy. This can affect your depth perception since you need both eyes working efficiently for best results. Wear a patch over the dominant eye to give the non-dominant eye a workout. Try this for 10 or 15 minutes at a time on a regular basis.

    • 2

      Look directly in front of you. Without moving your head, move your eyes right then left. Move them up and down. Keep doing this for 5 minutes to exercise your eyes.

    • 3

      Stare straight ahead. Bring your attention to your peripheral area. Test yourself to see how much you can recognize without turning your head. Your brain is the one interpreting the images, so giving your brain a workout will help signal to your brain that it should pay attention to this area.

    • 4

      Turn the lights off in a room of your house and draw the curtains. Have another person make patterns on the wall with a flashlight. These patterns should alternate between going diagonally, up, down, back and forth. Follow the light with your eyes.

    • 5

      Hold a pen at arm's length in front of you. Bring it toward your face slowly, watching it closely with your eyes. Stop before you write on yourself and extend it at arm's length again. Repeat this several times. Do this a few times a week. You will learn to sense some depth perception after marking your face a couple of times.

    • 6

      Exercise your eyes with mazes and hidden picture puzzles. This will give your eyes a workout to help with focusing your eyes.

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