Just like your muscles, your eyes need regular exercise in order to stay strong and allow you to see as clearly as possible for as long as possible, according to Sandra J. Gordon's "The Aging Eye." You can perform short, easy and non-stressful exercises and eye games without special equipment. Make them part of your daily routine to maintain healthy eyesight, or use them as soothing breaks after long stretches of reading or staring at a computer screen.
Clock Rotation
The clock rotation exercise, described in Sheldon Zinberg's book, "Win in the Second Half: A Guide to Better Aging and Fitness for Men and Women," is designed to improve eye motion and dexterity. Sit up straight in a comfortable position and look straight ahead. Imagine a very large circular clock face in front of you, with the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock marks at the far reaches of your field of vision. Focus on the center of the clock face at first, then move your eyes to stare at the 12 o'clock mark for at least two seconds. Do not move your neck. After at least two seconds, bring your focus back to the center of the clock for at least two more seconds, then repeat the process at each one-hour mark as you move clockwise around the clock face. Return to the center of the clock for a few seconds after each movement. After completing a full rotation in the clockwise direction, repeat the entire process, going counter-clockwise.
Do-It-Yourself Eye Exam
"Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide" by Burton Goldberg, Larry Trivieri and John W. Anderson describes a daily exercise that's a variation on the clinical eye exam. For this exercise, select a page of reading material and affix it to a wall at eye level. Stand a short distance away and read the entire page from top to bottom. Every consecutive day, repeat the process, but stand an inch or two farther away each time. This process can train your eyes to focus better over a larger range of distances, and with dedication and gradual improvement, you should be able to read the page from across the room.
Magic Eye Images
"Magic eye" images are computer-generated pictures that appear at first glance to be jumbled shapes and colors but can appear to pop out of the page if viewed properly. According to "Magic Eye Beyond 3D: Improve Your Vision" by Magic Eye, Inc. and Marc Grossman, regularly viewing a variety of magic eye images may help improve visual focus, stimulate mental acuity and relax and soothe the senses. Magic eye images are best viewed by placing them right up to your nose, allowing your vision to become blurry, and slowly moving the image from your face as you try to focus on a far-away point--as if you were attempting to look through the image and into the distance. When done properly, a hidden image will appear to leap off the page and seemingly float in front of it.
References
- "The Aging Eye"; Sandra J. Gordon; 2001
- "Win in the Second Half: A Guide to Better Aging and Fitness for Men and Women"; Sheldon Zinberg; 2003
- "Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide"; Burton Goldberg, Larry Trivieri, John W. Anderson; 2002
- "Magic Eye Beyond 3D: Improve Your Vision"; Magic Eye, Inc., Marc Grossman; 2004
- Magic Eye: 3D Viewing Instructions
