Think back to the last time you cracked open that great American novel. You were probably eager to dive right in and get up close and personal with an exhilarating story only to discover that in order to begin reading, you had to hold the book at arm’s length. Well, guess what? You may be noticing the affects of a common, age-related eye condition called Presbyopia.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean it’s time to hand in your license, or invest in a full library of books on tape. Simply put, your eyes (the muscles that surround the lens in particular) are just not as flexible as they used to be. This loss of flexibility in the eye leads to a degradation in your ability to focus on objects near or far. But, there are things you can do to help. Give your eyes the ultimate workout with these simple exercises to help ease the noticeable symptoms of presbyopia.
Presbyopia Exercise 1: Go Cross-Eyed
Remember when your parents warned you not to make a funny face or it might stay that way? Ignore that. With this exercise, a funny face might help improve your vision and ease presbyopia.
Sit or stand wherever you’d like and really focus on crossing your eyes by peering down at the tip of your nose. Hold this for a few moments, then uncross your eyes and re-focus on a distant object. The most important step in this presbyopia eye exercise is your breathing. Inhale as you cross your eyes, and exhale as you concentrate on your distant focal point.
Repeat this presbyopia exercise as often as you’d like throughout the day and always remember to breath.
Presbyopia Exercise 2: The ‘Air Trombone’
This is your chance to combine the fun of the air guitar with that burning desire to learn to play the trombone. We call it the ‘air trombone,’ and while it isn’t nearly as fun as rocking out with some air guitar, it will help you stimulate the same eye muscles that cause symptoms of presbyopia.
Grab a small object like a pen, toothbrush or popsicle stick. Hold that object at arm’s length and inhale. Then, slowly bring the object towards you and touch the tip of your nose, focusing on the object the entire way. Exhale, look at the object, and move it back out to arm’s length. Repeat as needed.
This presbyopia exercise works out your focusing mechanism while improving control of those ever-important eye muscles and stimulating circulation of essential eye nutrients.
Presbyopia Exercise #3: In the Palm of Your Hands
Have a seat or lay down on your nearest comfortable couch and place your palms gently over your eyes. Make sure to block out all light so you only see black.
To help you concentrate on removing surrounding light, try to imagine yourself in the darkest corner of outer space, engulfed in darkness, and breathe slowly. Keep your palms over your eyes for 10 minutes or more depending on how long it takes you to become completely relaxed.
The most important aspect of this eye relaxation exercise is visualization. Focus as much as possible on the darkness and feel the presbyopia melt away in the palm of your hands—not really, but it sure helps!
At the end of the day, when presbyopia eye exercises just don’t cut it, you can always ease the affects of this common condition with a variety of reading glasses, bifocal reading glasses, or other lenses like our popular EcoClear readers.