Lots of people think that is almost impossible to go through life without these optical crutches whether they are just schoolchildren starting to read and write a lot or mature individuals over 40 automatically stretching their arm to grab the infamous “readers”, otherwise known as “plus” glasses.
Well, let me tell you this: life without glasses is possible. The majority of visual defects, whether it is nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism are caused by wrong visual habits: and if those are caught in time, they can be easily prevented and replaced by correct visual habits.
I am talking specifically about the method developed by a pioneer of ophthalmology Dr, W. H. Bates who conducted extensive researches on various eye disorders and how to prevent and reverse them.
The correct visual habits, in essence, are these:
Breathe. That seems obvious but you’d be surprised how many people with anomaly of refraction hold their breath when trying to see some object.
Blink. Again, seems fairly obvious but people with bad vision usually do not blink often enough which causes stare. Develop a habit of staring and your vision will start deteriorating.
Shift. To prevent and break the habit of staring shift your gaze constantly from one side to the object to another, from bottom to top, etc. you get the idea. The object should seem to be moving or shifting in the direction opposite of the eye movement. People with normal vision do it automatically without noticing.
Count leaves on trees, seedpods or other small objects. The goal here of course is not to know the actual number but to shift your glance from one point to another. Again blink every count or two.
Use the hunter’s vision technique: look at the distant tree, then look at one branch of that tree, than look at one leaf and finally at the tip of the leaf. Again, do not lock your glance in a stare but glide over the chosen object easily and blink often.
Do the near-far swing. This is another variety of shifting, only here you look at some near object for a second or two and then to some father object, preferably something on the horizon and at anything in between. Do not forget to blink and breathe when you move your glance between the objects. It is also extremely good habit to do while reading: at the end of each page or paragraph look through the window at some tree or a house. Do not try to see and do not strain.
Look between the lines. Another good trick is to look at the white space between the lines you read and notice them shifting. Visualize the white space between the lines whiter than it actually is, that helps to create better contrast between the black font and white background.
Well, I hope you found these little tips for maintaining good vision helpful. For the full scope I recommend you get Dr. Bates’ book. It is usually available from the local public library.