Important Tips on Eye Gymnastics for the Improvement of Vision

It is difficult to overestimate the role of the eyesight. More than 70% of information about the surrounding world we acquire through the visual channel. Human eyes are a major source of knowledge, but they also give a lot of aesthetic pleasure and perform an important supporting function in many activities. It is difficult to imagine a person with poor eyesight driving, dealing with electrical equipment, admiring art or playing golf without glasses. Beyond doubt, the deterioration of the eyesight can considerably decrease the life quality.
However, every year medical professionals observe the rise in the number of eye diseases. Moreover, such illnesses are gradually becoming “younger” and “younger”. The reasons for such a phenomenon are tightly connected with the modern lifestyle. Our eyes definitely experience more workload due to extensive reading, common use of computer technologies in our everyday life and the continuously increasing information stream, which must be absorbed in order to be further processed with our brain. Another important reason is our mainly urban lifestyle. It may sound strange, but the cityscape with its industrial skyline, which does not give the possibility to see the horizon and consists mainly of straight lines lays additional pressure on eyes which have to examine small objects at a very close distance.

This means that the deterioration of vision is predetermined mainly by the urban existence of a modern person. We spend hours in front of the TV or a computer, but very little time enjoying the spectacular natural scenery. However, if the lack of movement has already been recognized by the society as a serious threat to human health and well-being, which resulted in the general interest to fitness, sport and active lifestyle, very few people now realize that eyes need gymnastics not less than body muscles. We tend to forget that a human eye is a sense organ which has its muscles and ligaments, which can and must be trained. There are exercises which can help not only to improve vision and prevent eye diseases, but also fight the consequences of constant fatigue, which influence the eye sight in a negative way.

There are several methods of eye gymnastics, but all of them are based on similar exercises and principles. And although it is difficult to believe that simple eye movements can eliminate the majority of eye problems, hundreds of people who regularly train their eyes prove this fact.

Before proceeding with the description of the exercises, it is worth mentioning several key principles of the exercises.

• The more you train, the better: during the day our eyes have to cope with a huge workload, so find several minutes a day to give them a short break. In this way you will improve your vision, boost your energy level and relieve possible headache, which is often the result of eye problems.
• The color scheme of the objects which surround us is of an utmost importance for the health of our eyes. Intensive, bright and unnatural colors are known to irritate eye nerves, but such color as green is characterized by distinctive soothing properties. Apart from the exercises, simply observing some green object, whether it is a picture or just a view of the neighboring park for a few minutes after every hour of concentrated work can have a soothing effect on your tired eyes and make the gymnastics more effective.
• When having a break at work, spend some time massaging your eyes: stroke your eyelids gently, close your eyes, press your eyeballs with your fingers slightly and rotate the eyes.
• Each exercise must be followed by thirty-seconds break, when you will simply keep your eyes closed.

Eye Exercises

Exercise 1

Place your forefingers in the upright position in front of your face at a distance of about 40 cm on the level of your eyes. Look at them for some time, and then move your hands to the sides very slowly keeping the fingers in the same upright position. Try to keep track of your both fingers with your peripheral vision at the same time. Look at them for some time and then move your fingers to the starting point of the exercise again. Then proceed with the next exercise without a pause.

Exercise 2

Look at your forefingers. Then look at an object several meters in front of you. Observe the object for about 5 seconds, and then focus on your fingers again for about the same time. Repeat the exercise several times.

Exercise 3

Close your eyes and press your eyeballs with your finger pulps gently six times. Open your eyes and try not to blink for 6 seconds. Repeat the exercise 3 times.

Exercise 4

Close your eyes tightly and then open them wide 6 times. Then open your eyes and try not to blink for 6 seconds. Repeat the exercise 3 times.

Exercise 5

This exercise is based on the eye rotation. Look down, then to your right, up, to your left and down again. Repeat the movement three times. Afterwards, look straight in front of you. Then repeat the rotation, but this time move your eyes clockwise. Repeat the movement three times.

Exercise 6

Blink for two minutes as quickly as possible. Do not close your eyes tightly – just try to make the movement as quick as possible.

Exercise 7

At the end of the exercise set stroke your eyelids gently. Stroke your upper eyelids with your finger pulps starting with the medial angle of the eye to the lateral one, and then the lower eyelids form the lateral to the medial one. Repeat the movement nine times.

Having finished the exercises, close your eyes for several minutes. Then smile and try to send all the positive energy of your smile into your eyes.