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Posted by: Mitchell Refractive Surgery & Eye Center

Five Exercises for Your Eyes

We all know it’s important to stay fit and work out regularly to keep our bodies and minds in shape. But did you know you can also help your eyes with a special regimen of exercises? 

Although eye exercises will not improve your eyesight outright, they may help with coordination, balance, and focusing, while also reducing eyestrain. Continue reading for a full list of our eye doctor’s suggested eye exercises. 

Relax Your Eyes

Before doing any eye exercises you need to prepare your eyes. To do this you should:

• Rub the palms of your hands together until warm
• Make a cup with your hands
• Close your eyes
• Place your warm, cupped hands over your eyes
• Make sure no light is coming in from the gaps between your fingers

While your eyes are covered, breathe deeply. Continue doing this until you have completely relaxed and all you see is black.

Near-and-Far Focusing Exercise

This exercise will help you vary your focal point when looking at objects that are at different distances. While doing this eye exercise you may sit or stand. To preform this exercise you will:

• Place your thumb or another object about 10 inches from your face
• Focus on your thumb for 10 to 15 seconds
• Change your focus to another object about 10 to 20 feet ahead of you and look at it without moving your head for another 10 to 15 seconds
• Repeat this process 5 or 6 times

Dynamic Focusing Exercise

Focusing on a moving object can be tough, making this next exercise difficult for some people. Our eye doctor recommends that you sit while preforming this next exercise. Once seated you should:

• Extend your arm all the way out in front of you while giving the thumbs up sign
• Focus on your thumb’s fingernail and bring it closer to your face until it is around 3 inches from you 
• Move your thumb away until your arm is fully extended again 

This exercise should be done three times in a row, once a week. Doing it any more than that may cause your eyes to strain, which could result in headaches.

Eye Control Exercise

This exercise involves working on controlling your eye movement. To do this exercise you may sit or stand. Then follow these steps:

• Focus on the floor about 10 feet in front of you 
• Imagine a figure-eight and slowly trace the shape with just your eyes
• Continue to do this for 3 minutes before changing directions

As this exercise is a little less strenuous than the dynamic focusing exercise, feel free to do it for as long as you are comfortable.

Eye Tracking Exercise

Tracking is following a static or moving object when you are also moving or standing still. For this exercise you will:

• Find an open area that has a wrought iron fence, picket fence, or another series of vertical columns, but is free of possible tripping hazards
• Walk alongside the vertical columns and focus on an object on the other side of them 
• Turn around and repeat this process, but going the other direction.

Working on your eye tracking has a couple benefits. It can help improve your coordination, balance, and peripheral vision. A good tip with this eye exercise is to do it while walking around your neighborhood. That way your eyes and the rest of your body both get the exercise they deserve!

Visit Your Eye Doctor Today

These exercises can help your eyes in a variety of ways, but the best thing you can do for your eyes is maintain regular visits with your trusted eye doctor of Boca Raton, FL. Pick up the phone today and call the Mitchell Eye Center at (561) 451-0655 or schedule an appointment online. We look forward to seeing you in the office soon!

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