How Blinking Can Improve Your Vision

When it comes to flexing our muscles, we’ve all heard of leg day — but what about eye day? After a long day of staring at screens of all sizes, your eyes probably feel tired. However, there are simple exercises you can do to strengthen blurred vision, lessen the frequency of eye strain, and help to fix depth perception. 

Follow the 20-20-20 Rule

Staring at a computer screen all day can cause eye strain, headaches, and blurred vision. To prevent these symptoms, try using the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes you stare at a screen, take a 20-second break and focus on a target 20 feet away. These intermittent breaks help the eyes refocus and relax, reducing the potential for eye discomfort that many of us experience after long-term screen use.

Blink Often

Blinking helps stimulate tear secretion, lubricating the eyes and reducing the odds of developing tired, blurry eyes. People who are intensely focused on a television or computer screen often blink less, so it helps to consciously blink intermittently. 

Move Your Eyes in a Figure Eight Motion

This exercise helps strengthen eye muscles and increases flexibility. To perform the figure eight exercise, focus on a target 10 feet away. Use your eyes to trace the shape of the number eight on your target for 30 seconds. Repeat the process in reverse for 30 seconds before going back to your day.

Cover Your Eyes to Relieve Fatigue

Palming is an excellent technique for relieving eye fatigue. This yoga-inspired technique helps relax the eye muscles and restore optimal vision. Take your palms and rub them together furiously for several seconds to warm them up. Then, close your eyes and cup both palms over your eyes for the next five minutes while breathing deeply. 

Try Looking "Around the World"

This exercise helps limit presbyopia, a condition that makes it hard to focus on objects at varying distances. To perform this exercise, begin by sitting in a comfortable position. Then, spend three seconds looking in each of the following directions in this order: up, down, ahead, left, right, upper left, and upper right. Next, rotate your eyes clockwise twice and then counterclockwise twice before repeating the process.

Improve Your Focus With Pencil Pushups

For this exercise, all you need is a pencil. Start by holding it at arm’s length directly between your eyes. Focus on a clear target, such as the eraser. Then, slowly bring the pencil toward your nose while keeping the target in focus. Extend your arm and repeat the process once your target gets close enough that it blurs. Do this exercise 20 times daily to help your eyes focus.

Try Zooming to Strengthen Your Eyes

Zooming helps strengthen eye muscles and trains the eyes to focus better on a target. To begin, sit comfortably with one of your arms extended and your thumb pointed upwards. Focus on your thumb, and then slowly bring your hand closer to you until your thumb is roughly three inches away from your face. Then, extend your thumb until your arm is fully outstretched. Repeat the process 3-4 times each day for around 20-30 seconds each.

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