Many people may have heard of the Bates Method but have only a slightest idea of it. Wearing prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses has been a common option of vision correction for a lot of years. Similarly, the Bates Method has also a long history. Some people may not know that corrective eyeglasses can not help in improving the wearers’ eyesight. Nor prescription contact lenses. The Bates Method differs from those corrective devices that it is aimed to improve one’s vision. This article discusses both the details of the Bates Method and the underlying foundations behind it.

In general, the Bates Method is an approach to natural vision improvement. It suggests some eye exercises that will help in getting a better vision naturally. From another perspective, it is an alternative approach to eyesight correction without using prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses or having a surgical treatment. Different from those corrective devices, the Bates Method created by William H. Bates emphasizes the importance of relearning correct visual habits. It is actually the visual habit that matters because most of the patients suffering from visual problems tend to forget these habits as they age.

According to Bates’ thoughts, eye refraction problems are mainly caused by bad visual habits such as straining the eyes frequently. This is the most basic foundation behind this method. So, regaining correct visual habits will enable patients to naturally get rid of those negative sources of visual refractive errors. Right visual habits will never exert unnecessary strain or stress on the eyes. There are a variety of simple eye exercises included in the Bates Method, such as blinking while gazing at an eye chart, shifting the gaze from one view to another, and exposing the closed eyes to the sun and the like. Doing these exercises on a regular basis is believed to gain natural visual improvement.