It goes without saying that exercise is important. You should be exercising daily, moving as many parts of your body as possible.
But what about your eyes? They are an important organ that allows you to function daily. Should you be exercising them too?
The Basics of Eye Exercises
If you want to know if eye exercises will make you never need glasses or contacts ever again, we’re sad to inform you the answer is no. Exercise, of any kind for that matter, is not the end-all, be-all to any condition or disease.
When it comes down to it, certain eye exercises can make your eyes feel better, but they won’t necessarily cure anything. If you sit at a desk all day and look at a computer screen for multiple hours, soft movements of the eye can make them feel more lubricated and comfortable in the socket.
There are of course companies that will tell you otherwise, give you so-called miracle ways to move your eyes around and fix nearsightedness, astigmatism and a list of other eye conditions.
If you want exercises for your eyes, you should schedule an appointment with an eye care professional and see what kinds of activities they can give you that work best for your eyes.
What Do Eye Exercises Do?
Eye exercises focus on toning the eye muscles to work more efficiently. This can improve looking at screens all day or reading a whiteboard at school for kids.
The kind of eye exercises that your eye care specialist will give you will depend on your eye situation. Some movements may include:
- Concentrating on certain objects repetitively.
- Following a pattern on a wall or paper.
- Covering one eye to work the other.
- Changing focus from near to far or vice versa.
Examples of Eye Exercises
Here are two examples of eye exercises you can do at home on a daily basis to tone your eye muscles.
Changing Focus: This exercise should be done in a seated position and will work on your eyes’ ability to focus.
- Take your finger and hold it directly in front of you, a few inches away.
- Focus on your finger, then slowly move it away from your face.
- Look away at the farthest point, then look back at your finger and focus on it again.
- Move your finger slowly back to you while focusing.
Figure Eight: This exercise should also be done in a seated position and will allow you to work on the movement abilities of your eye muscles.
- Pick a point on the wall or floor in front of you.
- Trace an imaginary figure eight around the object for 30 seconds.
- Rest.
- Trace an imaginary figure eight around the object in the opposite direction.
There are many other ways you can exercise your eyes, but those exercises should be given to you by an eye care specialist.
Can Vision Therapy Help?
There is a field of treatment called vision therapy. This type of therapy does usually includes eye exercises but in a more personalized way that works in the best way possible for your eyes. These exercises are done under the supervision of an eye doctor or optometrist.
The goal of vision therapy is to strengthen the eye muscles, but it also can help with poor visual behavior or eye-tracking issues. Some conditions that may be treated with vision therapy, many of them affecting children, are:
- Dyslexia.
- Convergence Insufficiency.
- Strabismus (cross eye).
- Amblyopia (lazy eye).
Adore Your Eyes Today
We adore your eyes, and so should you. If you experience any problems with your eyes, schedule an appointment with the experienced eye care professionals at VisionQuest today. We can do a regular eye checkup and answer any questions you may have about your eye health.
Once you visit, you’ll see why the eye professionals at VisionQuest really do care.
Dr. Chris Browning is a Greenwood native, who has been serving the community through glaucoma care and myopia management. He studied at Indiana University Bloomington and the Indiana University School of Optometry. As he has severe nearsightedness himself, Dr. Browning is passionate about helping others to achieve excellent vision.