Eye exercises can help prevent damage to the eyes. But can they also help them get better? According to world-renowned ophthalmologist William H. Bates argues that it is in fact possible to undo damage to the eyes. In his research Dr Bates found that eyesight was affected by factors such as stress, diet and lack of sleep. At the same time, he also figured out that they can also be brought back to normal in the same way broken bones can be rejoined. And based on this, he developed some 100 years ago some simple exercises of eye relaxation that can help to improve vision.

Glasses can only correct your vision. But they can never be the cure of the eye of what led to the problem in the first place. Eyesight is lost because the eye muscles weaken over time. Using lenses does not make your eye muscles stronger. It only introduces lenses which do the work your muscles should be doing.

The most important thing for the well-being of your eyes is to keep them lubricated. For this, you should keep blinking often because your tear-glands are in the upper eyelid, and will immediately wet the eye.

Here are a few exercises that will keep your eyes healthy:

1. This is a common exercise that many may have come across already. Draw a large ‘E’ on a sheet of paper. Now try first concentrating on the top bar, then the bottom, and then the middle bar. Keep doing this as you move the page away, until you can’t see the letter distinctly any more.

2. Another thing you can try is to hold your hand out in your peripheral vision and wiggle your fingers. If you can’t see your fingers distinctly, move them in closer. This also helps to improve peripheral vision, among other things.

3. This one is also a very simple and easy exercise that you may have heard of. Draw in your mind a circle. Then contract this into an oval, and then draw a figure of ‘8’ around it. Sounds easy? The only difference is you must restrict the graffiti to your mind, but will need to follow all the ‘pen’ movements with your eyes. SO concentrate hard!

4. Get yourself a doctor’s eye-chart. Yes, the one in the eye clinic with all the letters on it is the one we are talking about. It would be useful to put it up in an easily accessible place and keep glancing at it every now and then. You can do this with other general objects in your visual field as well. Pick any object. Pay attention to its details as well as the entire environment around it. This helps to keep your eyes moving so that they don’t have to focus too hard and strain themselves. At the same time, it allows the mind to get all the information it needs.

Start off with these simple exercises as an activity to simply pass the time. Soon, as they begin to show results, you will begin to develop interest. And before you know it, these exercises will become part of your daily habit. Which is all the better for your eyes!