Eye Exercises - Myths And Reality

Do eye exercises have any use? Does it have sense to buy special programs to train your eyes or can you manage it on your own?

There are many eye exercise programs out there that suggest that exercising your eyes may improve your vision.

While no improvements have been noted in studies, these programs are still on the market.

It is suggested that you approach these programs with caution before you purchase any.

What Exercises Can Do

• Exercising your eyes can help your eye muscles remain strong and healthy.

• Healthy eye muscles make sure your eyes move properly and help you maintain your peripheral vision.

• By keeping your eye muscles strong and healthy, you can also prevent lazy eye.

• Probably the most important benefit of doing eye exercises is to refresh tired and strained eyes. As many of us work on computers all day long, our eyes get a lot of strain.

  Doing many of the exercises and then spending a few moments with your eyes closed will help lubricate the surface of the eye.

Amazingly, many of us will stare at a computer screen without blinking nearly as often as we should to keep our eyes moist enough.

Dry eyes feel gritty and get fatigued much more quickly than lubricated eyes.

What They May Not Accomplish

Studies have not supported the claims that doing eye exercises will help cure refractive problems like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) or astigmatism.

These problems occur because there is a problem with the shape of the eyeball.

The eye is too long when you are nearsighted. It is too short when you are farsighted, and the cornea of the eye has irregularities on its surface that cause astigmatism.

There is no proof that exercising will help you avoid presbyopia either, which is the natural aging of the eyes that make it harder to focus.

Sample Eye Exercises

1. Some excellent exercises for refreshing your eyes and preventing eye strain include palming your eyes. This is when you close your eyes and cup your hands over them for a few minutes, allowing them to relax and lubricate. Blinking several times in a row also helps your eyes lubricate.

2. Another exercise is to focus on something off in the distance that is not in stark contrast to its surroundings. Do this for a couple of minutes every half an hour to help keep your eyes relaxed and well rested.

3. An exercise that really works your eye muscles is to look at a wall and pretend to write. Move your eyeballs as if they were holding the pencil. Do not turn your head while performing this exercise. With a little practice, this exercise is quite a lot of fun. Try to make the letters big for the best work out.

4. Take a moment and relax your eyes. Now roll them clockwise first, then counterclockwise. Repeat this pattern five times, making sure you blink several times in between each repetition.

5. Another great exercise is to take a pen and hold it out at arm's length. Focus on it and count to ten. Now bring it a few inches closer, focus and count to ten. Repeat, bringing it closer each time until it is at the tip of your nose, focusing each time until the pen is clear.

Resting your eyes briefly every hour and doing a few quick exercises will help them to be less tired at the end of the day.

Have YOU ever tried any eye exercise program? How successful was it? Or do you want to share exercises that help your eyes to relax and feel better? Click the following link to share your experience:

Eye Exercises - My Own Experience