Disclaimer(1): I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. This article is pure entertainment. Most eye care professionals consider eye exercises harmless and/or useless and the eye care industry claims it is impossible to improve your eyesight.
Disclaimer(2): This is my own personal eyesight improvement routine that I developed over the course of about 6 months of experimentation after conducting years of research. I have both myopia (nearsight) and presbyopia (old sight) and this routine reflects that. As such this routine may or may not work for you at all. I recommend doing your own research and experimentation to develop a routine that works for you and your eyes unique needs.
MORNING
First Exercise: Eye Rolls
My eyesight improvement routine starts the moment I wake up. Before getting out of bed I look up at the ceiling and do 5 clockwise and then 5 counter-clockwise eye rolls tracing the edges of my vision. I do these slowly in order to pay close attention to any tightness I feel in my extra-ocular muscles and in which direction. For example, if my eye(s) feels tight at the top when looking down I know that I’ll need to do more stretching of the top muscles that day.
I used to put my glasses on immediately but I’ve broken that habit and now do all of my morning wake up routine without them.
Second Exercise: Focus Shifting
Now it’s time for the most effective exercise of them all: focus shifting. If at all possible I do this outside but if the weather isn’t agreeable I’ll sit at a window. I’ll start with focus shifting for myopia which is when you take an object (could be your thumb, your phone, the tip of a pen, etc.) and position it where it’s just on the edge of being perfectly clear. Then you simply shift your focus between that object and something that’s at least 20 feet (6 meters) away. Repeat 30 times for each eye separately and then 30 times for both eyes together. Remember: You do NOT need to be able to see the distant object clearly for this to work so don’t try to strain to see it. As long as you know there is something roughly tree or building-shaped out there that’s good enough.
Focus shifting usually causes the near object to clear. If that happens in the first few repetitions then I’ll push that object slightly further away and continue. Otherwise just keep it where it is until all repetitions are complete.
Next, since I also have presbyopia I repeat these focus shifting exercises but in reverse, where I pull the near object in closer until it loses perfect clarity and shift focus between it and the distant object. My myopia is more severe than my presbyopia so I’ll finish the focus shifting exercises with another round of the myopia version.
Note: If my eyes feel tired and like they’re struggling with the work I’m putting them through then I’ll intersperse the exercises with 60 seconds of palming and sunning to relax them. Palming is where you cup the palms of your hands over your eyes without touching your eyeballs. Sunning in where you close your eyes and face the sun.
Third Exercise: Zooming
Zooming is where you take an object and move it closer and further from you while tracking it and trying to keep it in focus as best you can. I do this 30 times with each eye separately but not together because I bring the object all the way up to my face and trying to do that with both eyes just be awkward and cross-eyed.
Fourth Exercise: Print Pushing
I wrap up my morning exercises with some reading and while you’re reading you may as well do print pushing. I like to alternate between reading just on the edge of clarity with reading as far away as I can and still be able to make out the letters.
Morning Measurements
After all the exercises are complete it’s time for me to take my daylight measurements. I take my Snellen readings, as well as centimeters-to-blur for both far (myopia) and near (presbyopia) and write them down in a journal. This is probably a good time to talk about how important it is to journal your progress. The eyesight improvement journey is a long one for most of us with many ups and downs along the way. It’s critical to keep on top of your measurements to track whether your sight is getting better, worse or staying the same.
Related Article: How to measure your own myopia and astigmatism at home
THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Like so many of us with myopia my work involves staring at a computer screen for most of the day. Since my monitor is less than 6 meters away from me it makes no sense to wear glasses for seeing clearly at 6 meters and beyond, which is the kind of glasses optometrists prescribe. So I wear glasses that are roughly 1.00 diopter lower than my prescription while working.
I take as many breaks from looking at the screen as possible, including walking to a window or going outside even if it’s just for a minute, to break that constant locked focus at a single distance.
I always try to fit in a 30-60 minute walk outside while the sun is up. This usually works out to somewhere around lunchtime for me. And I never wear my glasses during that walk.
EVENING
As I head into the hours after sunset screen fatigue becomes a big issue for me and without any sunlight to balance it out the only relaxation available for my eyes is more palming. Early evening is also when I take my second set of measurements. I don’t want to leave it too late where general fatigue will drastically impact my eyesight. But I do want a second set of measurements without the benefit of daylight so that I know what my averages are throughout the day.
Finally I finish the day off where I started by removing my glasses for my evening routine and doing 5 more eyerolls clockwise and counter-clockwise before turning out the lights.