Improve Vision and eye exercises to sharpen sight for nearsightedness

Practical tips and information to care for and improve your vision, the latest news, and exercises that you can use to sharpen your sight, and more.

EYEnews
November 2005 issue
Cambridge Institute for Better Vision
THE WORLD'S LEADER IN NATURAL EYE CARE

1. Another Surprised Eye Doctor: This Month's Vision Challenge Winner
2. Your Vision: Nearsightedness and Light
3. Vision Tip: How To Rest Your Eyes During The Day

1. Another Surprised Eye Doctor: This Month's Vision Challenge Winner

Before Lanre Abegunrin started using The Program for Better Vision an optometrist measured her vision: less than 20/20 in her left eye and 20/30 in her right. What worried her most, though, was that her eyelids drooped: her left eye wasn't open all the way and her right hardly opened at all. And her eyes didn't align. “My left eye moved upwards and my right didn't follow the movement of my vision,” says Lanre.

In her sixth week of using The Program for Better Vision, she decided to see an ophthalmologist. He tested both her eyes at a solid 20/20. “I told him about the exercises and he actually said the exercises could not have improved my vision,” recalls Lanre. “When I showed him my old passport photos he admitted that my eyelids have actually opened more, especially my left.”

She continued with The Program. Her left eye has completely opened and her right eye is starting to open wider and as a consequence her peripheral vision has increased, she has greater visual comfort, and less strain reading. Congratulations, Lanre.

Tell us about the success you're having. You could be the next Vision Challenge Winner! Just reply to this email and tell us your experience.

2. Your Vision: Nearsightedness and Light

In a study led by a pediatric ophthalmologist researchers found a link between myopia (nearsightedness) in children and nighttime lighting: 34% of those children who slept with a nightlight were myopic as were 55% who slept with room light. Yet, only 10% who slept in darkness were myopic.

This study suggests the importance of completely resting the eyes, which is an integral part of The Program for Better Vision. Because the eyes are light receptors the only way that the eyes and brain can get complete rest is to be in darkness. Whenever the brain perceives light it is processing visual information and not completely at rest.

Sleeping in darkness is one way to make sure that you rest your eyes and brain, but it's just as important to rest our eyes frequently - for short periods at a time - throughout the day.

3. Vision Tip: How To Rest Your Eyes During The Day

How do you rest your eyes? The best way is to give them darkness. You can do this with the Palming exercise from The Program for Better Vision. Palming takes about a minute. Here's how:

1. Cup your palms over your closed eyes. Adjust your cupped hands to shut out the light, but make sure you do NOT touch your eyes or eyelids.

2. Relax your brow and the area around your eyes while you take 2 or 3 deep breaths.

3. Notice what you see for another 2 or 3 deep breaths. With closed eyes you may see sparks, dots of light, or patterns of color. What you see will change as you watch it.

4. Now, open your eyes still cupping your palms over them. (Again, re-adjust your palms if you need to shut out all the light.)

5. With your eyes open in the darkness behind your palms imagine looking through your hands into the distance. Take another 2 or 3 deep breaths.

Seeing pure and total blackness while Palming indicates visual relaxation. Sparks, dots of light, or color patterns are signs that excess stimulation and mental strain are releasing.

Palming often throughout the day will soothe your eyes and mind, relieve tiredness and eyestrain, and refresh your brain and visual system.