Eye Exercises, Techniques and Tips to Improve Eye Health

Eye exercises, techniques and tips can be used to improve eye health as it ensures the muscles in the eyes are being properly worked and strengthened. Eye exercises are defined as movements and activities performed by the eyes to possibly help strengthen the muscles in the eyes, reduce eye strain and discomfort. Eye exercises can also be part of vision therapy which is a program used to improve visual abilities. While eye exercises will not improve vision, eye exercises are beneficial for people who work at a computer all day or have eye conditions that affect the eye muscles.

The purpose of eye exercises is to make the eyes feel better and more comfortable which can be achieved by working the muscles and giving them a rest from intense and singular focus. Benefits of eye exercises include providing relief from eye strain, strengthening the eye muscles and improving blood circulation. While the risks of eye exercises are minimal, it is a good idea to practice caution when performing eye exercises as you don’t want to strain or injure your eye with aggressive movements. Eye exercises are important for people with certain eye conditions that occur due to weak eye muscles. Eye exercises are often recommended as a treatment for people with strabismus, also known as crossed eyes, and amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, as it strengthens the muscles in the eye. Keep reading to learn more about eye exercises and how they are beneficial for the eyes.

What Are Eye Exercises to Strengthen Vision?

The eye exercises that may possibly help to strengthen vision include figure eight, brock string, blinking, palming, pencil push-ups, 20-20-20 rule, barrel card and focus change. The eye exercises that can help strengthen vision are listed below.

Figure eight: A figure eight eye exercise involves tracking an object in the figure of an eight, or infinity sign, and may help to reduce digital eye strain.
Brock string: A Brock string is a tool used to train the eyes in areas such as focusing and tracking, and may help with the symptoms of strabismus and amblyopia.
Blinking: Blinking is a movement that involves opening and closing the eyes, helping to keep the eye moisturised. Ensuring a person is blinking regularly, may help reduce dry eyes and eye strain.
Palming: Palming involves gently resting the palm of the hands over the eyes, to break eye concentration and potentially reduce eye strain and fatigue.
Pencil push-ups: Pencil push-ups are an eye exercise that is used to train the eyes to converge when looking at an object close up.
20-20-20 rule: The 20-20-20 rule is used to give the eyes frequent breaks which entails every 20 minutes, looking at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Barrel card: A barrel card is a tool used in certain eye exercises to help the eyes turn and move at the same time. A barrel card is often used to help with strabismus.
Focus change: Focus change involves making the eyes change focus from near to far distances by putting your index finger in front of your eyes and focusing between that, and a object further away.

1. Figure Eight

Figure eight is an eye exercise that involves tracking an object with the eyes in the shape and path of a figure eight. A figure of eight, also known as an infinity loop, is defined as a movement or object having the shape of the number eight. To perform this eye exercise, look at a point on the ground approximately 3 metres away from you and move your eyes in the shape of a large figure eight. Do this exercise for 30 seconds, then switch to following the figure eight in the opposite direction. This eye exercise is recommended to be done while seated and according to Medical News Today, can be performed to ease digital eye strain.

2. Brock String

Brock string is an eye exercise and vision therapy tool used to both diagnose and treat various vision issues. A Brock string is a white string containing different coloured beads placed along the length. It is commonly used on people with strabismus and amblyopia to improve the symptoms of these eye conditions. This eye exercise is beneficial as it is used to improve eye coordination, eye teaming and binocular vision for all distances. To perform this eye exercise, have a person hold one end of the string or secure the end to an object. Grab the other end and hold it just below your nose and look at one of the beads on the string with both eyes. According to Medical News Today, for eyes that work correctly, a person will see two strings in the shape of an X as well as the bead.

3. Blinking

Blinking is a common eye exercise that can help people who have eye strain or dry eyes. Blinking is an important eye exercise to reduce eye strain especially when it is caused by digital screens. People who are working on a computer, laptop or tablet for a long time often forget to blink, becoming so engrossed in what they are working on. This leads to the eyes becoming strained, dry and irritated. It has been proven in multiple studies that the blinking rate is reduced with computer use which is outlined in an article published in the National Library of Medicine. According to the Queensland Government’s Health Department, the average person blinks 15-20 times a minute. Blinking is important as it cleans the surface of the eye and adds moisture to the eyes. To ensure you are adding moisture to the surface of the eye, try and remember to blink often. Some ways to apply this is to actively think about blinking or have a blinking cue such as when a notification pops up or when you switch tabs.

4. Palming

Palming is an eye exercise technique that can be performed to benefit the eyes. Palming involves gently placing your palms over closed eyes. For better comfort, rub your hands together until they are warm so as to not cause any discomfort. Do not put any pressure on the eyes, simply rest the palms on the eyes for 5 minutes and focus on your breathing. Palming helps to relieve eye strain and fatigue by giving the eyes a break from concentration and may also encourage blood flow to help the eyes recover, relaxing the muscles around the eyes.

5. Pencil Push-Ups

Pencil push-ups are a common eye exercise that is similar to the eye exercise of focus change but is performed using a pencil instead of a finger. Pencil push-ups are used to train the eyes to converge when looking at an object close up. Eye convergence refers to the eyes working together when looking at near objects and is very important as people can develop convergence insufficiency, causing blurred or double vision when looking at things up close. To perform a pencil push-up, hold a pencil arm’s length away from you and focus on its tip. Next, move the pencil slowly towards your nose while keeping focused on the tip until you see two of the pencil. Finally, draw it away from the eyes and repeat the process.

Pencil Push-Ups. A person looking at a pencil in front of them.

6. 20-20-20 Rule

The 20-20-20 rule is a very common eye exercise that is often recommended for people who spend a lot of time looking at a screen or concentrating intensely on a task. The 20-20-20 rule, as suggested by the Cleveland Clinic, involves taking a 20-second break, every 20 minutes, to look at an object 20 feet (or 6 metres) away. The benefits of this eye exercise are that it helps to reduce digital eye strain and eye fatigue as it allows the eyes to have frequent breaks and also ensures the eyes focus on something far away rather than constantly on a screen close to the eyes.

According to the Optometry Times, the 20-20-20 rule is recommended by optometrists to help both prevent and relieve digital eye strain. This eye exercise was invented by Dr Jeffrey Anshel in 1991 in response to his work in corporate vision consulting.

7. Barrel Card

A barrel card is a type of eye exercise that uses a card with three red barrel shapes drawn in increasing sizes on one side and green barrels repeating on the other side. The barrel card is used to help people with strabismus as it trains the eyes to turn in together in order to view a near object. The eye exercise, barrel card, can be performed according to the instructions of Medical News Today which are as follows. Firstly, hold the barrel card in front of your face, aligned horizontally against the nose, with the largest barrel the furthest away. Next, focus your eyes on the furthest barrel until the two colours merge into one image and the other images of the barrels have doubled. Maintain focus for approximately 5 seconds then repeat this process with the middle and last barrel images.

8. Focus Change

Changing the eyes’ focus from near and far objects works the eye muscles to reduce pain and tension caused by eye strain. To perform this eye exercise, hold your index finger in front of your eyes a few centimetres away. Next, focus your eyes on the finger and slowly move it away from the face maintaining focus. Look past the finger then back at it as you slowly bring it towards your face again. Repeat this eye exercise technique three times to receive the benefits. Focus change benefits the eyes as it challenges a person’s focus and should be performed when sitting down.

What is the Best Eye Exercise for Blurred Vision?

Blurred vision is a common eye symptom of many different conditions, therefore, the best eye exercises for blurred vision will depend on the cause. If blurred vision is caused by eye conditions such as strabismus (crossed eyes) or amblyopia (lazy eye), eye exercises that strengthen the muscles around the eyes are best. If blurred vision is caused by a refractive error such as astigmatism or presbyopia, eye exercises will not work as they do not improve a person’s vision. Blurred vision is also a symptom of computer vision syndrome and therefore may be alleviated by performing eye exercises such as palming and the 20-20-20 rule.

How Long Does Blurry Vision Last?

There is not a singular answer for how long blurry vision lasts as it is dependent on the cause and can be very unpredictable. Blurry vision is a term that refers to multiple eye conditions and symptoms characterised by the eyes’ not being able to focus properly, resulting in hazy and unclear vision. It may be caused by refractive errors such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, or by other eye conditions such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). While there are no specific eye exercises for blurry vision there are eye exercises that help improve the eye conditions that may cause blurry vision such as palming and the Brock string.

What are the Benefits of Eye Exercises?

There are many benefits of eye exercises to help improve the comfort of the eyes. Eye exercises are especially beneficial for people who spend a lot of time in from of a screen and may, as a result, have computer vision syndrome. The potential benefits of eye and vision exercises will provide relief from eye strain, strengthen eye muscles and improve blood circulation.The potential benefits of eye exercises are listed below.

Relieve eye strain: People who spend prolonged periods of time in front of screens such as a computer, tablet or phone may have computer eye strain. Eye exercises are one way to relieve eye strain as they give the eyes a break from intense concentration and also strengthen the eye muscles.
Strengthen eye muscles: The eye muscles may need to be strengthened for people with certain eye conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (crossed eyes). Eye muscle exercises or eye strengthening exercisesinclude flexing and barrel cards.
Improve blood circulation: Eye exercises help to stimulate the blood circulation in the eyes which may relieve tension built up in that area. Palming is an eye exercise that may improve blood circulation which involves resting the palms over the eyes.

What are the Risks of Eye Exercises?

The risks associated with eye exercises are minimal, as eye exercises only require the eyes to move in certain directions and repeat movements. This will most likely not injure the eyes but it is always a good idea to be careful and not overtax or strain the eyes by doing too many eye exercises or performing them too aggressively. Another risk of eye exercises is that people will rely on this form of eye-related treatment and not book regular eye tests. Eye exercises are not and should not be used to replace receiving professional eye care from an optometrist. At Oscar Wylee, we recommend everyone should have an eye test with an optometrist at least once every 2 years.

Do Eye Exercises Help Improve Vision?

No, eye exercises will not improve your vision, instead, they are used for improving your eye health and comfort. Eye exercises are used to help strengthen muscles in the eyes that may be weak and they can also improve blood circulation. A person can only improve their vision through corrective devices such as contact lenses and prescription glasses or through eye surgery such as LASIK.

What Are Tips to Improve Eye Health?

There are many healthy eye tips a person can incorporate into their everyday life in order to improve their eye health and potentially maintain their eyesight. The tips to improve eye health include booking a regular eye test, limiting screen time, keeping a healthy and balanced diet, wearing sunglasses and quitting smoking. These tips to improve eye health are listed below.

Book a regular eye test: Scheduling a regular eye test is an important way to look after your eye health. Eye tests allow an optometrist to monitor changes in your vision and provide treatment where necessary.
Limit screen time: Prolonged periods of screen time can tax the eyes as they are concentrating intensely for a long time. This can lead to eye strain, computer vision syndrome and disruptions to sleeping patterns which is why frequent breaks from screens are important for eye health.
Keep a healthy and balanced diet: Your diet can be a significant contributor to not only the health of your body but also your eye health. Try to keep a healthy and balanced diet that includes leafy greens, omega-3 fats, seeds and nuts. These foods help to protect the structures of the eye and maintain the health of your eyes.
Wear your sunglasses: The UV rays emitted from the sun can be very damaging to the eyes. Wearing sunglasses when outside protects your eyes and maintains eye health. Prolonged exposure to the sun’s harmful rays has been linked to eye conditions such as cataracts.
Quit smoking: Smoking has been shown to greatly increase a person’s risk of developing eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Therefore, quitting smoking is very beneficial for healthy eyesight.

Does Wearing Prescription Glasses Improve Eyesight and Health?

Yes, wearing prescription glasses can improve eyesight but not necessarily eye health. Prescription glasses are a type of corrective eyewear used to help people achieve clear and comfortable vision. Prescription glasses are typically used to correct refractive errors which are a category of visual issue that affects a person’s ability to see clearly. Other ways to improve eye health include getting a regular eye test, wearing sunglasses and limiting screen time.