Understanding the Concept of Exercising Your Eyes

WORKING-out your body can be done for superficial reasons; however ultimately, when done in moderation, a daily dose of exercise is truly imperative to living a healthy life.

While we generally tend to think about the health of our visible muscles, there are many other internal muscles that are often overlooked, and shouldn’t be. It can be argued that vision is our most important sense – as well as typically the most taken for granted.

Much like physical fitness on your exterior muscles, there are ways to work out your eyes and ultimately improve your optical functioning. Here are five essential exercises for your vision-needs.

Blinking – Blinking is a great way to keep your eyes fresh, open, and lubricated. When you focus on something specific – like watching TV, reading, or working on the computer – you tend to keep your eyes open longer, with fewer blinks. However, doing this can actually cause eye strain. Try blinking every 3-4 seconds for fresher eyes.

Palming – Palming is a great stress reliever. There are a few different ways to do this technique. However, they always involve you feeling relaxed. Start by taking a few deep breaths, while you rub your hands together until they become warm. Relax your body and close your eyes. Lightly cover your eyes with your palms so that no light can creep through.

Although you may see remnants of colors from your vision-memory, try to imagine deep blackness. Once you only see darkness, remove your palms. This is a great exercise for not only your eyes, but also your mind – especially during a busy workday. Repeat when necessary.

Figure Eight – Calculated movement is one of the best ways to improve the flexibility of your eye muscles. Picture an infinity sign (or the number eight on its side). Simply trace the sign around and around one way. After a few minutes, make a U-turn the other way and continue.

Near & Far Focusing – One great way to strengthen your vision is this focusing technique. Stand somewhere that you can see into the distance, and hold up your thumb about 10 inches from your face. You will then alternate between focusing on something that is about 10 – 20 feet in front of you and focusing on your thumb. Switch back and forth every few seconds; you can use your deep breaths as your timer. This technique should be done for about 2-3 minutes total.

Zooming – Similar to the above, zooming is a great way to strengthen your eye muscles, as well as your general focusing skills. Begin by sitting or standing in a comfortable format, and again, hold your thumb out in front of your face. This time, you will keep your focus on your thumb at all times, while moving it back and forth from a full arm extension to about only 3 inches from your nose. As usual, do this for only a few minutes and use your breathing to trigger your movements.

If you are not keeping up your optical muscles, they can breakdown over time – just like your exterior muscles. Even if you’re already wearing prescription glasses, try these exercises on a daily basis in order to keep your vision in check. You definitely don’t want to go from wearing single vision lenses to multifocal glasses – so try and push that off as long as possible and take great care of your eyes. You do it for your physical health, so do it for your vision as well!