Top 5 Exercises For Your Healthy Eyes

We all have been told that carrots are good for the eyes. But, do you know what else is beneficial for your vision? Exercising! Yes, for a lot of people, eye exercises might come as a surprise. But trust me when I say that eye-related exercises have been prompted as a ‘natural cure’ for vision issues since centuries. Of course, there is hardly any credible scientific evidence to suggest that eye exercises can enhance your eyesight. But, they can, in fact, help with strain and may help your eyes feel better! So, if you want to know more about eye exercises, then read ahead!

Do Eye Exercises Really Work?

Let us get some things straight, if you have common eye conditions like myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness), astigmatism, or similar problems, then eye exercises will not benefit your eyes. Likewise, people suffering from eye diseases, like age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma, will also not benefit much from eye exercises.

Having said that, it does not mean that eye exercises have no advantages, at all. Although eye exercises might not improve your vision’s strength, they definitely help with comfort and relaxation, especially if your eyes get irritated after a long day of work.

Exercises might be prescribed for the following conditions -

• Difficulty focusing your eyes while trying to read
• Blurry vision
• Eye strain
• Increased light sensitivity
• Convergence insufficiency, wherein one eye drifts outwards or inwards
• Cross eyes or strabismus
• Lazy eye or amblyopia
• Double vision
• Challenges with depth perception

On the contrary, eye exercises or eye yoga might not be very helpful for the following conditions -

• If you blink a lot
• Frequent squinting
• Have eye spasms
• You are suffering for a paralysed eye muscle

Now that we know how eye exercises improve vision, let us delve further into the topic!

Top Eye Exercises to Improve Overall Eye Health

Depending on your vision-related concerns, you can try out some of the eye exercises mentioned below!

1.Focus Change

It is a type of eye exercise that works by challenging your focus. You should do Focus Change while being seated. The steps to complete it are -

• Hold your pointer finger a few inches away from the eye
• Focus your eyes on the finger
• Slowly and steadily, shift your finger away from your face, keeping the focus intact
• Then, you have to look away for a moment, into the distance
• Concentrate on your outstretched finger and slowly bring it back towards your eye
• Look away and focus on something in the distance
• Repeat everything three times

2.Pencil Push-ups

Pencil push-up is an exercise that helps with improving binocular vision. In simple words, we can understand binocular vision as the ability to look in the same direction and obtain a three-dimensional view of your surroundings. The steps to do pencil push-up exercises include -

• Hold a pencil in front of your eyes at arm’s length
• Slowly bring the pencil closer to your eyes until you see a double image of the pencil
• Take the pencil to its initial position
• Repeat the steps multiple times during the day

3.Blinking

The third eye exercise to improve vision is incredibly simple. Blinking is a vital mechanism that distributes across our eyes to foster lubrication. However, people who are frequently working on computers or have prolonged screen time might not blink sufficiently. The culmination is eye irritation, dryness, and a burning sensation in the eyes. But, it is possible to prevent such problems by following some simple steps.

• Take a small break in between your regular work to blink multiple times
• Close your eyes and pause for a few seconds before opening them
• Repeat the process multiple times a day

4.Follow the 20-20-20 Rule

An extensive screen time can lead to eye strain, which is a problem that many people face in today’s digital age. Human eyes are not designed to be glued to a single object, such as the computer screen or mobile phone, for prolonged time periods. However, most of the modern-day jobs and even higher-learning happens via digital screens. To avoid the ensuing eye strain, you can follow an exercise called the 20-20-20 rule. It may help doge digital eye strain. The 20-20-20 includes looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds after every 20 minutes.

5.Aroud the World

Last but not least, around the world is an exercise that might help strengthen your eye muscles. The steps to perform this eye exercise include -

• Sit comfortably in a place
• Look straight up for 3 seconds
• Look down for 3 seconds
• Look ahead to a focal point for 3 seconds
• Then look to your left and right for 3 seconds, respectively
• Look to the top left and top right fo 3 seconds each
• Finally, rotate your eyes clockwise and anticlockwise two times each

So, there we have it, a crisp overview of the top 5 exercises to improve vision and keep your eyes robust and healthy. In today’s day and age, when our lifestyles are fast becoming sedentary and extremely oriented on digital devices, it is important to prioritise your eye health with the right kind of exercises. In addition, protective devices like sunglasses, blue light glasses, and likewise, can also help!

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