Naturally Curb the Aging Process of Your Eyes (written for Improve Eyesight Exercises)
Perhaps you already seek out natural solutions to health conditions first. Do you know that there are natural solutions available to you to help improve your vision?
First, you can help your eyes by reducing your "staring at one thing" time. Catch yourself staring at the television, at your computer, at your up-close work; you may notice increased headaches from such activity, blurring, and a bothersome burning sensation around your eyes. While wearing glasses or contacts does correct your vision, it does not strengthen your eye muscles at all; in fact, wearing glasses or contacts could be making your eyes muscles weak and lazy.
A better solution and goal is to exercise your eyes by moving them around and purposefully choosing to focus on many different things throughout your day. Eye muscles, like any muscles in your body, respond well to exercise and then rest. Dr. Bates (from the 1890s) developed relaxation and exercise techniques that are still highly respected today and deliver results. You can seek out the "Bates Method" of exercises to prevent or improve near- or far-sightedness, macular degeneration, aging eyes, troubles due to eyestrain, glaucoma, and cataracts.
Some of the "Bates Method" exercises include "palming," "blinking rapidly," and "zooming." Palming, for example, involves resting your eyes in the palms of your hands for darkness and relaxation. Blinking rapidly improves the lubrication to the eyes and also cleanses them each time you blink.
Along with exercise and rest, your eyes will benefit from a diet rich in vitamins A, C, and E. Also, zinc and selenium are helpful minerals for your eye health. While you cannot stop the clock, you can through diet and exercise slow down the aging process that your eyes will go through and maintain your best possible eyesight for a longer period of time.
Relax and Improve Your Eyesight
Mistakenly, many people think that there is only one solution to impaired vision: to correct it. Most people do not consider that there could be a natural cure available. Instead, they look to correct their vision with contacts, glasses, or Lasik surgery. These corrections are only a "fix," not a cure.
It is easy to strain your eyes these days. Staring at a computer, a television, a video game, a book, and straining to see something far away can all produce mental and physical strain on the eyes. In order to improve your eye health, you will first have to learn how to relax your eyes. Relaxing your eyes is very simple and only requires a conscious effort. Try the following five exercises for relaxation:
" Blink. Blink every three to four seconds for about two minutes.
" Palming. Place your elbows on a desk, and palm your hands over your closed eyes. Do not apply any pressure anywhere; just simply relax in the dark for a few minutes.
" Figure eight. Imagine an "8" about ten feet in front of you, and then move your eyes through the figure "8" in one direction and then the other direction. Repeat this a few times.
" Near and far focusing. Hold out your extended thumb from your extended arm in front of you. Breathe deeply and stare at your thumb. Then, change your focus to something up close and focus on it for a while. Repeat.
" Zooming. Assume the above-mentioned position with your arm and thumb. Focus on your thumb from a distance, and slowly bring it in towards your face (about three inches away from your face). Then, slowly return your arm to its original position-all the while focusing on your thumb.
Change in Vision Does Not Demand Glasses
While the importance of relaxation in mental health is well-documented, many do not understand the need for relaxation for optimal ocular health. The muscles around your eyes become tense just as other muscles in your body. The effects of the tension in your eyeball muscles are often impaired eyesight.
When a person encounters poor eyesight, they typically seek out an optometrist who then prescribes glasses or contacts. This is not necessary, and in fact it can decrease the functioning of your eyes rather than improve them. Eye glasses and contacts can make your eye muscles lazy; your eyes rely on the work of these "tools" to help you see better.
Instead, if you would invest five minutes each day into eye exercises and then also invest some time in intentionally relaxing your eyes, you probably can improve your vision enough that you will not need corrective vision tools. For starters, if you tend to spend a lot of time indoors or staring at a computer, just look out a window every once in a while for a about a minute. Natural light causes your eye muscles to relax. Next, warm up your hands by rubbing them together, closer your eyes, and place your cupped palms over your eyes. Let your eyes and your mind relax for as long as you would like. When you open your eyes again, you will see more clearly and feel refreshed. Another helpful exercise is to look up as far as you can and hold it for a few seconds. Rest your eyes, and then look as far down as you can. Repeat this exercise to the far left and far right.
To relax your eyes, relax your whole body. Stand with feet a little apart and your knees comfortably bent. Rotate your body slowly from the hips in a side-to-side motion and move your arms in a similar relaxed manner. With eyes opened and focused, let your body relax into the movement.
Lastly, remove as much eye strain from your life as possible. Sit a little further back from your television, reduce the time that you spend looking at a computer screen, get plenty of sleep at night, and only wear your glasses or contacts when it is absolutely required.
