How to Get Better Vision

Exercising Your Eyes

Try the Bates Method. Some people believe that our eyes are like the rest of our body — the more we exercise and use them, the stronger they will become. The Bates Method uses this idea and a series of exercises to gradually improve your vision. While there is no scientific evidence that the Bates Method works, people in surveys do report improved vision. Eye exercises may be what is called a “placebo” effect — that is, practitioners report feeling better because they believe the exercises are helping. At the very least, the Bates Method does not harm.

Palm your eyes. The first step in the method is to “palm” your eyes by covering them with your hands. This should help to warm and relax the eyes. Get into position by sitting in a chair with cushions in front of you. The cushions are for resting your elbows. Or, alternatively, lie on your back with some pillows behind your head. Some people prefer to palm in a darkened room. Close your eyes and place your hands over your eyes with cupped palms. Make sure that you are not putting any pressure on your eyes. There should be no light, or very little, that reaches your vision. Hold this position for 10 minutes to start. At the end of 10 minutes, assess yourself. Do you feel relaxed? If not, continue palming for a longer period.

Trace a figure eight. Another exercise that you can do is to trace a shape. Rolling your eyes in this way will activate eye muscles and, ideally, strengthen them. While sitting, imagine a figure eight placed about ten feet in front of you. Trace the figure up, down, and around with your eyes, keeping your head stationary. Repeat for several minutes. Now, turn the figure eight on its side. With this image in your mind, begin to trace the shape again, slowly, without moving your head. Repeat for several minutes. You can do this exercise practically anywhere, either at home, at work, or even on the subway.

Focus on near and far objects. You’ve exercised the eye’s external muscles by tracing shapes. Now is the time to use the eye’s inner focusing mechanisms. Some people believe that this will improve your visual acuity. While sitting, perhaps at your desk, put your thumb about ten inches in front of your face and focus on it deeply for about thirty seconds. Next, shift your gaze from the thumb to an object about 10 to 20 feet in front of you. Allow your eyes to refocus and concentrate on the object for another thirty seconds. Take a deep breath and refocus on your thumb. Repeat this shift at thirty-second intervals for about two to three minutes.

Protecting Your Vision

Rest your eyes. There are old myths that certain things will damage your eyesight, like reading in dim light. In fact, reading in dim light does not permanently injure your eyes, it only strains them. Excessive reading, especially on backlit computer screens, will do the same thing. Rest your eyes to keep them from becoming strained. To prevent eye strain, pace yourself. Rest briefly about once every 20 minutes by looking away from the screen or closing your eyes. Or try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away or more, for 20 seconds. Make a conscious attempt to blink regularly. This keeps your eyes well lubricated. If your eyes are tiring at a computer, try to adjust the light. Sometimes glare or harsh lighting can worsen eye strain. When driving, aim vents away from your eyes. Dry, air-conditioned air sucks the moisture out of eyes like a sponge and can worsen eye strain.

Wear eye protection. A set of glasses or goggles can guard your eyes from debris, chemicals, or glaring sunlight. Keep a pair around the house, in your car, or at work in case you need extra eye protection. Swim goggles will protect your eyes from pool chlorine. While this chemical will probably not permanently damage your vision, it can often irritate and inflame your eyes. Studies show that people who swim with goggles have lower numbers of bacterial colonies in their eyes. Safety goggles in the workshop goes without saying, and is one of the first rules of safety. These will protect you from any debris that might otherwise cause a corneal abrasion or worse. Ultraviolet light from the sun can damage your corneas, lens, or other parts of the eye. Make sure to wear sunglasses when outside. When choosing sunglasses, go for UV protection that blocks 99 to 100% of rays. Blue-blocking lenses are better than amber, for example. Polarized lenses will also reduce glare for driving. Wear a large hat or cap along with your sunglasses. A wide-brimmed hat will block about 50% of UV radiation and reduce the UV rays that get around the glasses.

Remove makeup and contacts every night. It is important not to forget to remove your contact lenses before you go to sleep every night. Sleeping in contacts can allow harmful bacteria to breed in the eye, leading to infection. Nearly one million Americans end up at the doctor each year with infections caused by contact lenses, many because they slept in their contacts or did not practice good contact care. Make sure to remove and properly clean your lenses every day. In serious cases, people have become blind from poor contact care, which led to the growth of amoebas. Remove eye makeup every night, as well. This will prevent small pieces of makeup from winding up in your eye and possibly scratching your cornea. If you leave on mascara, your stiff eyelash may get bent and poke your eye.

Avoid conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis, or “pink eye,” is the inflammation of the eye’s conjunctiva, or the thin layer of tissue that covers the eye whites. Usually it is caused by a viral infection, but it can also result from fungi, contact lens wear, or allergens. Conjunctivitis causes irritation, burning and watery eyes. It can also include a discharge of pus from the eye and crusting on the eyelids and lashes. While probably not permanently harmful, conjunctivitis is certainly unpleasant. You can avoid it by practicing good eye care, like washing your hands and not rubbing your eyes. Use a fresh towel every time you wipe your face. Sharing face towels or napkins with others can transmit conjunctivitis. Do not share makeup, makeup brushes, contact lenses, or eyeglasses.

Eat right. Eating the right things might not improve your vision, but it will give your body all the nutrients it needs to maintain it. There are many vitamins that help to promote good eye health. Make sure to include them in your meals. Eat fish twice a week, for example. Fish are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids — proven to reduce the risk of dry-eye syndrome. If you can't stand fish, try fish-oil supplements. Have sweet potatoes for dinner tonight. Rich in Vitamin A, these spuds are especially good at improving your night vision. Have spinach twice a week. It could be steamed, sauteed in olive oil with garlic, or perhaps in a quiche. It doesn't matter how you get it, just be sure to have it regularly. Studies show that lutein, a nutrient abundant in spinach, may prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Cook with red rather than yellow onions. Red onions contain more quercetin, an antioxidant that is thought to protect against cataracts.

Correcting Your Vision

Go to an optometrist. Optometrists are doctors who specialize in basic eye care, including sight testing, diagnosing of problems, and prescribing of corrective lenses. The optometrist will give you a battery of eye tests and help to identify any issues that you’ve having. She is the foundation in your preventative eye-care. You should see an optometrist about once every two years if you are a healthy adult. Seniors and diabetics should go more often, once per year. Make an appointment with your eye doctor is you have any sudden changes in vision, double vision, halos, excess tearing, pain in the eye, sudden flashes of light, or unusual red eye. Any of these could be a symptom of a serious condition.

Get corrective lenses. The optometrist may prescribe corrective action to improve your vision. Lenses or surgery are, in fact, the only proven ways to actively correct vision — the rest is either unproven or prevention. In consultation with your doctor, decide what the best course of action is. Most likely you’ll either get glasses or contact lenses. Both are used to correct conditions like near- and far-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Nowadays many people choose contact lenses for cosmetic reasons, or because they don’t slide down the nose or fog up. However, glasses require less in the way of hygiene and everyday care. The choice is really up to you.

Consider corrective surgery. Vision surgery is also known as “refractive eye surgery” and only works for certain types of vision — namely, near- and far-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. If you are a candidate for corrective surgery, the procedure will be specially tailored to your issues. Vision surgery is generally done nowadays by laser, like the LASIK procedure. One downside is cost, as this surgery can be as much as a couple thousand dollars per eye. There are also risks of complications like chronic dry eye. While complication arise in about 0–4% of cases, severe vision loss is very unusual. As always, talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of this procedures, and what options suit you best.