According to medical research, the most common causes of visual impairment are functional disorders, which in most cases can be overcome with simple and natural treatments, without the need for surgery, glasses or contact lenses.
This article will discuss the most effective ways to restore vision that have been proven in the treatment of myopia, farsightedness, astigmatism and other visual defects. The effectiveness and speed of the treatment depends directly on the complexity of the violation, its duration and the fulfillment of the prescriptions.
Ignoring advice and recommendations, eye fatigue from excessive work, physical and mental stress, as well as improper nutrition can significantly slow down the progress of treatment, and in some cases stop it completely. To prevent this, you must carefully follow all instructions during the entire course of treatment, as well as after its completion.
Causes of visual impairment
According to Dr. Bates' research, the main cause of visual impairment is psychological and physical overstrain, which leads to disturbances in accommodation - the ability to see distant and near objects equally clearly.
Contrary to the prevailing stereotype, vision focusing occurs not only due to a change in the curvature of the lens, but also due to a change in the shape of the eye itself, due to the action of the external muscles of the eyeball, which are responsible for the movement of the eyes in all directions.
Due to the contraction of certain groups of eye muscles, the back wall of the eye moves closer or farther apart depending on whether you are focusing on a distant or near object. Thus, many visual impairments are nothing more than the result of a disturbance of accommodation due to malfunctioning of the extrinsic muscles of the eye.
In myopia (myopia), the eye has a permanently elongated shape, which does not allow focusing on distant objects, and in farsightedness (hypermetropia), on the contrary, the eyeball has a compressed shape, which does not allow you to see close objects clearly.
Vision correction using lenses worsens the situation even more, as it fixes the muscles in one position, disrupting the natural accommodation. As a result, muscle tension increases and the disease progresses.
Thus, glasses and contact lenses are the main cause of the continuing deterioration of vision that they are aimed at combating.
Exercises to restore vision
Using special techniques to relieve tension from the eye muscles in combination with diet and general improvement of the body's health, you can significantly improve vision, and in some cases completely overcome many visual defects, including nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.
To achieve maximum results, it is necessary to be aware of the treatment and carefully follow all instructions. The main task is to learn how to relieve tension and achieve the desired level of relaxation of the eye muscles. Deep relaxation and relaxation is the key to successful vision recovery.
Gymnastics for the eyes
Eye exercises are an important step towards improving vision. The main task of eye exercises is to relieve tension from the eye muscles and tone them. This will significantly speed up the treatment process and return normal vision.
Gymnastics for the eyes with myopia, farsightedness and astigmatism consists of four basic exercises that must be performed in the most relaxed state. This is best done while sitting on a chair or couch.
- Exercise #1. As gently as possible and with minimal effort, move your eyes up and down 6 times in each direction. Movements should be as slow and evenly spaced as possible. As you relax, your eye range of motion will increase. Keep it as loose and relaxed as possible. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times with 1-2 second breaks between repetitions.
- Exercise #2. Smoothly move your eyes from side to side 6 times in each direction. No tension. The main task is to relax overstressed muscles, not increase tension, so eye movement requires minimal effort. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times with an interval of 1-2 seconds between sets. As you relax, increase the amplitude while maintaining relaxation and ease.
- Exercise #3. Bring your index finger to your eyes at a distance of about 20 cm, focus on it, and then look at a large object that is 3 meters or more away. Then look back at your finger, then refocus on a distant object. Move your eyes back and forth 10 times at a fairly fast pace. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times with an interval of 1-2 seconds. This is one of the best conditioning exercises to do as often as you can.
- Exercise #4. Move your eyes as carefully and slowly as possible in a circle, first in one direction, then in the other direction. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times for 4 rounds in each direction with an interval of 1-2 seconds between rounds, applying minimal effort.
Before each exercise, you should relax your eyes by covering them with your palms for a few seconds. If you wear glasses, they must be removed during training. If your eyes hurt during the process, stop the exercise and rest. Wash your face with cold water and do palming.
Neck wellness exercises
Gymnastics for the neck is an important step towards restoring vision. Due to overexertion of the neck muscles, the nerves are affected and blood supply problems occur. Therefore, for the treatment to be successful, it is mandatory to rule out disorders in the spine and achieve complete relaxation of the muscles of the back.
- Exercise #1. Take a free standing position, arms relaxed and down. Raise your shoulders as high as possible, then pull back as far as possible, then lower back down and return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 25 times, making fairly quick circular movements with the shoulders.
- Exercise #2. Make circular movements in the same way, only in the opposite direction. Pull your shoulders back, then lift as high as possible, lower and return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise continuously 25 times.
- Exercise #3. Drop your chin to your chest as low as possible, relax your neck as much as possible, then gently lift your head and tilt it back as far as possible. Don't try too hard during the process. Repeat the exercise 12 times.
- Exercise #4. Gently lower your chin to your chest, then rotate your head to the left, lean back, rotate to the right, and return to the starting position. All movements should be slow, even and with the maximum possible amplitude, but without tension.
- Exercise #5. Slowly rotate your head to the right, return to the starting position, then rotate your head to the left. Turns should be slow, without tension and with maximum amplitude. Repeat the exercise 10 times.
Regular exercise helps relax the neck and upper back muscles, improves blood flow and nerve energy to the head, normalizes high and low blood pressure, and also has a positive effect on vision and general well-being. Gymnastics for the neck is best done in the morning or in the morning and in the evening, as well as throughout the day if necessary.
Exercises to relieve eye strain
In order to succeed in improving vision, the eyes must be given a full, consciously provided rest of 30-60 minutes each day to relax all the muscles and tissues around the eyes. There are special exercises for this:
Covering the eyes with the hands (palming) is one of the simplest and most effective exercises for correcting vision, which can be performed almost anywhere and at any time. The technique for performing the exercise is as follows:
- Sit in a comfortable position on a chair, armchair or couch to feel free and comfortable. Relax as much as possible.
- Close your eyes and cover them with your palms so that the middle of the right and left palms are against the right and left eyes respectively, and the fingers are crossed on the forehead. Remove any pressure on the eyes.
- Get into a comfortable position with your elbows resting on your knees or on the table. Eyes should remain closed and covered with hands.
- Relax as much as possible, do not dwell on anything important or serious, think about the good and the positive. Try to see as much black as possible. The more black is in front of the eyes, the more relaxation and rest they experience.
Schematically it will look like this:
To achieve a good effect, covering the eyes with palms should be done at least 2-3 times a day for at least 10-20 minutes. It is also recommended to do the exercises between work when your eyes are tired.
Side rocking is a very effective exercise for relieving eye strain and relaxation. To perform it, stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, arms down by your body. Keeping relaxed and calm, begin to gently rock from side to side.
In the process of movement, you can imagine yourself as a pendulum and move in the same measured and slow way. The torso should remain straight and the legs should not bend. If necessary, you can slightly raise the heel without taking your feet off the floor.
It is best to perform the swing while standing by the window. At the same time, the eyes should be relaxed and look without tension at the objects outside the window, "swinging" with you. After a minute, close your eyes and imagine the "movement" of the window as clearly as possible. After a minute, open your eyes again and continue tomove, then repeat the exercise again.
Rocking should be done at least 3 times a day for 5-10 minutes. When performed correctly, it effectively relieves stress from the eyes, and also has a very beneficial effect on the condition of the eyes and the nervous system in general. It goes without saying that if you wear glasses or contact lenses, they should be removed before doing this exercise.
Blinking is a very simple and effective exercise to relieve eye strain. Unfortunately, in many people with visual impairments, the natural process of blinking is disturbed: they blink less often, their eyes become less mobile, and the blinking process itself proceeds convulsively, with tension and irregularly.
In order to improve vision and the condition of the eyes in general, it is necessary to develop the habit of blinking frequently, regularly and calmly, thus preventing strain. It is recommended to blink at least 1-2 times every 10 seconds without any effort, regardless of the situation.
Sunlight is very important in the treatment of visual impairment and should be used to the maximum by all patients. However, it is worth using it carefully so as not to harm yourself. To do this, follow the basic rule - never look at the sun with an unprotected eye, so as not to damage the retina.
There are many ways to restore vision with sunlight. The simplest and most effective is to face the sun, close your eyes and slowly turn your head from side to side so that the rays fall evenly on your eyes. It is recommended to perform this exercise 2-3 times a day for 10 minutes. For safety reasons, it is best to do this in the morning and evening.
You can also rock from side to side while facing the sun. Of course, with your eyes closed. Such sunbathing improves blood circulation in the eyes, relaxes muscles and nerves.
In addition, the following exercise is very beneficial for improving vision:
- Cross the four bent fingers of one hand and place them perpendicular to the other four.
- Place your palms over your eyes so that one palm covers one eye and the other creates a point for a thin ray of sunlight to pass into the other eye.
- Run a small beam of light through your fingers and look at it. Adjust the thickness of the beam so that the contemplation of sunlight is pleasant and does not cause discomfort.
- After 1-2 minutes, switch hands to look at the sun with the other eye.
Looking at the sun through the hole between your fingers is very attentive! Failure to observe the safety measures can damage the retina of the eye!
Cold water is an effective means of quickly relieving tension and improving the tone of the eyes, as well as the muscles and tissues around them. To do this, while washing, close your eyes and do not splash a lot of water in them. Repeat the procedure 10-20 times, then carefully wipe the closed eyes with a towel.
Repeat the procedure every time your eyes are tired, but at least 3 times a day. At the same time, keep in mind that the water should be cold, not cool.
Training memory and imagination is an important step towards good vision. It is very easy to verify this - we recognize familiar objects much faster than unfamiliar ones, since memory and imagination come to our aid. Therefore, they must be developed for the restoration of vision to be successful.
To train your memory and imagination, you can use the following exercise. Carefully consider each small object, its size and shape. Then close your eyes and try to remember everything in great detail. Repeat the exercise.
The above exercise should be performed for 5 minutes or more, of course without glasses or contact lenses. Words or letters from books can also be used as objects. Regular exercise contributes to a significant improvement in vision over time.
Central fixation is a basic exercise that allows you to see better the objects on which you focus your attention. Unfortunately, people with visual impairments are often deprived of this opportunity. Because of the constant overstrain, they see better with their peripheral vision than with their central vision.
To restore central vision, use the following exercise. Open the book and concentrate all your attention on a line. Then highlight the word in the center of the line and concentrate on it. Then close your eyes and imagine that you see that word as clearly and distinctly as possible, and imagine all the surrounding words as blurry as possible.
Open your eyes again and repeat the exercise. Perform the central fixation for 5 minutes, each time imagining the central word more clearly and all the surrounding words as blurred as you like.
As your vision improves, move on to shorter words until you can do the exercise on two-letter words, concentrating on one letter. The second letter will be blurred. In this case, we can consider that the central fixation is almost achieved.
Reading – Contrary to popular stereotypes and misconceptions, reading is one of the best ways to exercise your eyes and keep them active and healthy. Of course, this only applies to cases where the reading takes place without tension. Otherwise, poor eyesight will only get worse.
To improve vision, it is necessary to read without strain. To do this, take a comfortable sitting position, cover your eyes with your hands and relax as much as possible. After a few minutes, pick up the book and start reading, keeping it at the most comfortable reading distance, remembering to blink as you read. As soon as the first signs of fatigue appear, give your eyes a break. Close them for a few seconds and, if necessary, cover your eyes with your hands (palming).
As your vision improves, gradually change the distance to the book. With short-sightedness, the distance should be increased, and with long-sightedness, it should be reduced. If you are currently very nearsighted, then you can start reading with one eye, favoring the eye that sees worse. As your vision improves, it will be possible to start reading with both eyes.
Initially, the duration of the reading may be only a few minutes. However, you should not despair. Over time, mastering the skills of relaxation and relaxation, you will be able to read longer without any effort and tension.
Proper nutrition and diet to improve eyesight
Improper nutrition is a common cause of visual impairment with age. In many cases, only following a diet can significantly improve eyesight, and in combination with special exercises - completely restore it.
It is impossible to make a universal diet that is suitable for everyone, so the following general recommendations for making the right diet:
- Eat only natural food.
- Eat more vegetables, fruits and vegetables (according to the season).
- Cook food as little as possible and only when necessary.
- Exclude artificial and concentrated foods, convenience foods and canned foods.
- Reduce to a minimum or even better completely give up fried, smoked, fatty, sweet and salty foods.
- Avoid drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks.
- Minimize tea, coffee and sugary drinks.
- Eat animal products, such as meat, in moderation.
- Start your morning with a light breakfast. Fruits and milk are best for this.
- Eat small portions, but often. Optimal up to 5-6 times a day.
- Every meal should contain foods rich in fiber (see point 2).
- Have dinner no later than 2 hours before going to bed.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that it is necessary to minimize, and it is better to completely abandon the consumption of everything that is so diligently advertised with the help of the media. We should treat food as a necessity, not as a means to satisfy our tastes and whims. By changing your relationship with food, you will change your health.