One of the ways to strengthen and keep a healthy lifestyle is to exercise and stay active. The same goes for the eyes. The eyes also need regular exercise, just like the body.
In this age of technology, almost everyone turns to the television to watch shows, gadgets, and computers to work, socialize, and make online transactions. Some vision concerns may not be noticeable right away, but as you use your eyes to focus on something for more extended periods, you can experience eye strain and stress.
These exercises do not require you to exert too much effort or invest your savings in maintaining a healthy and better vision.
Eye roll
Rolling your eyes is an excellent exercise to relieve eye strain. Consistently doing an eye roll is like a workout for your eye muscles. Just like when you lift weights to build body muscles, an eye roll will strengthen your eyes.
But how often are you going to roll your eyes? Do you need to do eye rolls the whole day? The answer is not all day. It only takes about over a minute to do this.
You need to sit up straight, then look forward and finally relax your shoulders.
Look to your right, roll your eyes upwards. Next, roll your eyes to your left then downwards. You can do this in repetition, twice a day.
You can take your time rolling your eyes and remember to face a wall and not your computer screen.
The palm exercise to relax the eyes
Cup your palms over the sockets of your closed eyes until the afterimages turn black. Do this for thirty seconds. This exercise freshens your eyes and serves as a reset button for your eyesight.
Zooming
When your work requires you to look at the computer screen all day, zooming exercise refreshes your eye focus and prevents eye strain.
Sit up straight and in a comfortable position. Stretch out one arm in front of you properly with your thumb up.
Focus your eyes on your thumb, bend your arm and slowly draw it closer to you until it reaches about three inches away from your face. You can perform this exercise several times for two minutes.
Blink Breaks
Several studies report that a person’s average spontaneous blink rate ranges between 12 and 15 per minute. When you look at screens all day, you probably don’t blink very often. As simple as blinking is essential to prevent dry eyes.
Look straight at a blank wall, slowly close your eyes for a few seconds, and then open them. Repeat the exercise for the next two minutes.
Figure of Eights
This exercise is ideal for maintaining the flexibility of your eyes. Look straight at a blank wall and imagine a figure 8 in front of you. Trace the path of the figure with your eyes without any movements of your head. Do this for a minute, then another minute in a reversed way.
If you find this method uncomfortable, you have your thumb as your guide. Extend your arm in front with your thumb up. Keep your eyes on your thumb while it’s tracing figure 8.
The Eye Press
Using your fingers, press them lightly on your eyelids. Keep them under the same pressure for ten seconds, then slowly remove your fingers from your eyelids. Keep your eyes open for a few seconds until your vision comes back in full. Repeat the eye press for ten minutes to get maximum eye relief.
Near and Far Focus
This is another excellent exercise for your eye muscles’ flexibility. You can sit or stand, whatever you’re most comfortable with. Position your thumb in front with a distance of about 10 inches. Focus your eyes on it for 15 seconds. Find another object about 20 feet away, and focus on it for another 15 seconds. Then return your focus to your thumb. Repeat the exercise five times.
Letter Writing on a Wall
This will surely exercise and strengthen your eye muscles as you will be writing some letters on the wall with your eyes.
Sit facing on a blank wall, about eight feet away. Once you have letters or words in mind, trace them on the wall with your eyes for twenty seconds. You can do this for two minutes but make sure to have breaks in between. The exercise allows your eye muscles to move fast in different directions. With this, even the weakest eye muscle can get great exercise.