Working on a computer, with documents in the office, assembling small parts behind a conveyor for a long time - all this tires the eyes and sooner or later can lead to myopia.However, simple but regular exercise can not only be an excellent preventive measure against vision loss, but also prevent diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma.
Who invented eye exercises?
Even in ancient times, the problems of restoring sight troubled the minds of great scientists, priests and thinkers.Gradually, through trial and error, a certain system of exercises was created, an echo of which can be found in the works of Bates and other authors.Many experts criticize these exercise systems, but others consider them perfectly reasonable and acceptable.
Many ophthalmologists were also involved in the development of eye exercises, in particular a professor who worked for many years in leadership positions at the Research Institute of Eye Diseases.Under his leadership, a set of exercises aimed at improving blood circulation, normalizing intraocular pressure and increasing visual acuity was also developed.
Currently, in addition to the usual eye exercises that a person can perform, there are special computer programs and hardware methods for vision correction.
Exercises to improve eyesight according to the professor's method
General strengthening exercises.Although many people believe that if you have myopia, it is enough to do just a few eye exercises, it turns out that a sedentary lifestyle and poor physical fitness alone contribute to the progression of myopia.The reverse is also true: daily exercise and moderate physical activity are excellent means of preventing vision loss.
Already in the 1980s, it was found that the following types of physical activity help to strengthen the ciliary muscle of the eye and improve blood circulation if the heart rate is in the range of 100-140 beats per minute:
- running;
- walking
- skiing;
- swimming.
However, when performing the same exercises with a heart rate of 180 beats per minute, as well as jumping rope, gymnastics and acrobatics, there is a progression of myopia due to deterioration of the accommodation and blood circulation of the eye.
How can you determine your heart rate to get the best visual benefits from running or walking?Of course, you can simply measure with special instruments or count the number of heartbeats in 10 seconds and then multiply by 6. If this seems difficult, you can use the following method: physical activity is considered moderate if a person can speak in sharp, short sentences or phrases during sports.If the load is too great, which will be harmful to the eyes, breathing is enough to say only short words, for example, "yes", "no", "I don't know", etc.
Special exercises
They are divided into three groups: to improve blood circulation and accommodation, as well as to strengthen the eye muscles.
Exercises to improve blood circulation and normalize intraocular pressure
The point of these exercises is that you should periodically do with your eyes:
- blink often (for example, for a quarter of a minute), then take a short break to rest and repeat again 4 times;
- close your eyes for 5 seconds (do 8 times);
- Gently massage the eyes through closed eyelids for 1 minute and then repeat the pressure on them 3-4 times with three fingers for a second.
Exercises to strengthen eye muscles
The muscles of the eyeball become stronger and maintain their shape well if we smoothly move our gaze without turning our head:
- vertical up-down, down-up;
- along one, then the second diagonal in the up-down direction;
- horizontal left-right;
- turn clockwise and counter-clockwise.
It is recommended that you do almost every exercise in this block up to 10 times.
Visual acuity exercises
The exercises of this group are based on moving the gaze from a close distance to a distance and vice versa (while the gaze is fixed in each position for 3-5 seconds).It could be:
- bringing the index finger at the level of the nose to the face (so that its image becomes double) and removing it at arm's length;
- looking at a colored mark at eye level on the window and looking at a distant object located along our line of sight for 5-7 minutes every day.
Useful and fun exercises for children
Not every child can do such exercises several times a day.And here the games that train the accommodation of the eyes and strengthen their muscles come to the rescue.It is important to exclude those games where there is a high probability of blows to the face, collisions, high tension or tension.
The following activities can largely replace "boring" exercise for children and help improve vision:
- short fast running (patching, catching up);
- catching and passing the ball;
- throwing a ball (a small bag of sand) at a wall or a target on the floor.
During class, approximately halfway through the lesson, it is recommended that you blink rapidly for 30 seconds and then sit for 1 minute with your eyes closed while leaning back in your chair.