Out of all five human senses the most important one is the ability to see. A major portion of the tasks we are required to do on a daily basis can be accomplished by this one sense. Having poor eyesight hampers our day to day functioning to some extent. Furthermore, the modern lifestyle demands us to be glued to computer, mobile and tablet screens which strains eyes and leads on to development of a slew of visual problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia, blurry vision and double vision. All these problems can be dealt with by wearing spectacles meant for a person’s individual condition. But it’s not a long term solution and this is where eye exercises come in to help. If our eyes are exercised regularly, it can improve our vision by strengthening the tiny muscles located around the eyes. It is possible to train the eyes to see clearly with sticking to an eye exercise regimen.
Here Are Some Exercises To Improve Your Vision:
1. Blinking Exercise
Most of the visual disturbances take place due to less frequent blinking of eyes. When our eyes are focused on a particular object for an extended period of time the blinking rate declines which impacts the production cycle of tears, which form a protective film on our eyes and results in dry eyes. Performing blinking exercise ten to fifteen times a day leads to an increased tear formation and minimizes the appearance of floaters in the visual field. To do this exercise place the tips of both ring fingers near the outer corners of both eyes and blink your eyes twenty to thirty times repeatedly without giving a pause.Remember when you blink your eyes your fingertips should not feel any movement where they are placed.
2. Eye Rolling Exercise
Our eyes tend to remain in the same position for longer durations which makes it difficult for them to adhere to constant movements and when not exercised regularly the muscles surrounding the eyes begin to lose there form and give rise to visual disturbances. Doing eye rolling exercise firms the ocular muscles and improves the peripheral vision. Sit with a lean posture and focus your eyes on a wall ten feet away from you. Visualize a large circle on the wall and imagine tracing the circle with your eyes in clock wise direction ten to twelve times without pausing in between. Rest your eyes by focusing them at the centre of the wall and blink ten to fifteen times to relax the eyes. Now trace the circle again by rolling both of your eyes in anticlockwise direction ten to twelve times.
3. Nose Tip Gazing Exercise
This exercise helps our eyes to focus better on a particular object as it trains the mind to concentrate on a single object for longer durations. Sit on a chair with your back and neck straight and your chin slightly raised upwards. Place your gaze at the wall or an object kept close to your eye level. Extend your right arm in front of you with your hand kept in thumbs up position. The tip of the thumb should be parallel to the tip of the nose. Now focus your gaze at the tip pf the thumb and start moving your thumb towards your nose tip while keeping your gaze on the thumb as it moves till it meets the nose tip. Focus your eyes on the tip of your nose and the thumb for about a minute and then repeat it for five to eight times. One thing you need to keep in mind while doing this exercise is that when you focus your eyes on the tip of the nose make sure that your eyes do not hurt.
4. Pencil Gazing Exercise
This is an extremely beneficial exercise for improving our eyesight as it gets the eyes in the habit of seeing an object from varying angles and distances without straining them. Hold a sharpened pencil upright with its tip pointing the ceiling and adjust its position so that the tip is at the level of your eyes. Slowly move the pencil away from you with your gaze fixed at its tip. Then bring it back towards your face till it is three inches away from your eyes and then again move it away from you. Do six to eight repetitions of this exercise. Now move the pencil to the left and then to the right. Repeat this six to eight times. Now start moving the pencil as if you are making a circle with it in clockwise direction. Move your eyes as the pencil moves.Repeat this step by rotating the pencil in anticlockwise direction. Relax your eyes by blinking them ten to fifteen times at the end of this exercise.
5. Number Eight Exercise
The eight figure eye exercise helps in improving eye focus by regulating eye movements. Seat yourself on a chair kept atleast ten feet away from the wall. Straighten up your back and neck and look straight into the wall. Visualize a horizontal figure of number 8 as shown in the image below. Starting from the upper left side, trace the figure by moving your gaze as if you are drawing the figure with your eyes. Repeat this exercise for six to eight times in a single set. Another way of doing this exercise is by visualizing number eight placed vertically in front of you and then tracing it starting from top to bottom.
6. Palming Exercise
Palming your eyes is a wonderful technique to relax your eyes at the start or at the end of your eye exercise regimen. It relaxes the eyes by stretching the protective film on the eye and clears vision. Sit in a relaxed position and close your eyes. Rub your hands together to warm them up and place both your palms over your eyes with your fingers brushing against your hairline.Ideally the palms should cover your eyes so that the light is completely blocked from reaching your eyes. Hold your palms in the same position and exhale and inhale slowly for ten seconds.