When my daughter was diagnosed with farsighted vision, I was not sure how my three-year-old child was going to deal with it. It was never easy to convince a child her age that she should wear her prescription glasses all day long.
Thankfully, she was so cooperative 🙂
My daughter barely watched TV at that time. On the contrary, she spent most of her time playing with her brother and sister. There were no tablets, no play station, and I never gave her my smartphone as some moms do nowadays. So, it was not digital devices that developed farsightedness in her case.
My doctor explained that it started when she was born. No one could notice that not even her doctor until she was three.
At that time, I thought that prescription glasses bought in-store or online, in addition to surgical procedures, were the only ways for her vision to get better.
However, I was wrong!
Her doctor explained that I could do a lot to help her skip wearing her glasses sooner than I thought.
On the other hand, we all know that many people are suffering from deteriorating vision due to the amount of time that they spend staring at computer monitors, television screens, and other devices. More than 90% of aging-related deterioration of vision before the age of 50 is due to diet and the daily use of corrective lenses.
Therefore, we really need to look for alternative solutions for vision problems.
I did the research, and here is what I found…
How to Improve Eyesight Naturally
#1 Eye Exercises
This is the very first method that I used to help strengthen the muscles around my daughter’s eyes. And it did improve her vision noticeably.
Another simple exercise you could do is to focus on a near object for 3-5 seconds, then shift the focus of your vision to an object that is farther away for 3-5 seconds.
You can hold a pen in your hand, focus on it, and then look out a window to find a distant object to focus your vision on. Repeat several times a day. This could be useful if you work in an office.
#2 Sunning and Palming
Sunning provides your eyes with the healing abilities that the sun offers while palming helps your eyes relax.
This video illustrates how you can do sunning and palming.
Sunning helps relax while exercising your eyes and your brain at the same time. You do this exercise while your eyes are closed; slowly move your head from side to side, allowing the healing sunlight to penetrate your eyes.
Remember that you should never look directly into the sun with open eyes. Always close your eyelids then point them towards the sun. Also, never wear contact lenses while performing this exercise.
#3 Healthy Diet
We all know how a good diet can improve your overall health. Carrots, which are rich in vitamin A, have always been linked to good eyesight, which is true. Carrots also contain vitamins B-complex, C, D, and E, amino acids, all of which promote eye health.
Omega 3 fatty acids and bilberry is said to help relieve eyestrain. Make sure you include fatty fish in your diet, which will prevent dryness of the eyes, thus reducing eyestrain.
Leafy green vegetables like spinach are also a great source of nutrients that help aid your vision naturally. Spinach is rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, and minerals such as iron and zinc, either in a smoothie, cooked, or in a soup.
India Gooseberry (Amla) contains a high concentration of vitamin C and other antioxidants. These anti-oxidants promote good eyesight. You can drink amla juice or eat it cooked as amla murabba, which is a sweetened preserve.
#4 Blinking
When people use computers and other digital devices, they tend to blink less. This will cause the eyes to dry, and suffer from strain. The American Optometric Association calls this computer vision syndrome or digital eyestrain.
If your eyes are dry, itchy, have a burning sensation, encounter difficulty in concentration or have double or blurred vision, then one cause may be that you do not blink enough.
Eye specialists recommend blinking every 6 seconds. Blinking coats your eye with a fresh layer of tears that cleanse the eye’s surface and moisturize it.
How to Blink?
Normally, you should blink 7-10 bpm (blinks per minute). If you feel like you blink much less than that, try one of the blinking exercises.
The following video shows a simple blinking exercise that you can do while setting in front of your desk. Blink 10 times as quickly as possible, then close your eyes, relax, and then open your eyes. The aim of this exercise is to help your eyes retain more moisture and relax your eyes, especially after spending a long time using a computer or any digital device.
Another simple blinking exercise is as follows.
As a physicist, I believe in the power of science. However, I also believe that nature has given us natural solutions to many of our health problems, and these solutions could work side by side for improving your vision.
And though eye exercises and other natural methods are not a replacement for modern eye care, they could help you the same way they have helped my daughter slowly work up to better vision without the need for increasingly strong glasses.
Your vision does not have to decline over time; on the contrary, with regular exercises, you can reduce eyestrain and improve your eyesight naturally.
Do you wear prescription glasses? Would you consider trying any of these exercises? Share your story in the comments section below.
Maria
It’s so lucky for me to read your post! Actually, I am a health- conscious girl, I am going on a diet, doing exercises every morning. However, I have never cared about my vision, even deteriorate it everyday by sticking eyes to computer and cell phone screens. Just wanna say thank you so much for reminding me!
Maria recently posted…Tips for back sleepers
Dima Al Mahsiri
You are welcome, Maria!
Naveen Sharma
Hi Dima Al Mahsiri,
A healthy diet combined with eye exercises, sunning and palming and blinking. These are such simple methods but we could not have known about all of them in one place but for this article.
If such simple ways can help improve eyesight, why not go for them.
Most people know about carrots being good for eyes but you have given a complete list of food items that are good for eyes including amla.
I am really glad that I found all this information in one place.
-Naveen
Naveen Sharma recently posted…15 Health Benefits of Amla
Deal Diabetes Smartly
Amazing Post. I will definitely try the tips mentioned in the article to improve my eyesight. Thanks for such an informative post.