Ciliary muscles control the eye vision and movements. Stronger eye muscles mean healthier eyes. Just like you work out in the gym to build body muscles and stay healthy, there are eye exercises that can be done to strengthen eye muscles, improve focus and coordinate eye movements.
Many people have even got rid of glasses by practicing vision therapy. Eye exercises are particularly useful for those who complain of eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, increase sensitivity to bright light, tired eyes, and difficulty in sustaining attention; wear contact lenses/glasses or for maintaining the general well-being of eyes.
8 Ways to strengthen your eye muscles
- Splash your eyes with lukewarm water before you go to bed at night and after you wake up in the morning. This will remove foreign matter causing blurred vision.
- Palming technique - It is a very beneficial method for those who do close work for very long hours. While working on a computer or desk, take a break every 20 minutes to look at a distant object for at least 10 seconds. This will comfort your eye muscles which get tired of focusing on close-up work for a long.
- Squeezing - Whenever your eyes feel stiff or dry, close them shut tightly for at least 5-10 seconds. Repeat this five times. It'll help to re-moisturize your eyes.
- Rotation - Look up and slowly move your eyeballs in circles - five times clockwise and once counter-clockwise. This will loosen up the tightened ocular muscle.
- Eye massage - A gentle massage outside the ridge of your eye sockets helps improve blood circulation to the eyes which enhances oxygen flow.
- A figure of 8 - Try tracing a figure of 8 in the air with your eyes slowly. It helps to improve the flexibility of eye muscles.
- Zoom in-out - Stretch out your arm with your thumb lifted up in a 'thumbs up' position. Focus on your thumb, bring your thumb closer to your eyes, and then stretch it out. Do this for a few minutes throughout the day. This exercise will help improve focusing skills.
- Apart from eye exercises, the right nutrition is also important. Include nutrients like vitamin A, C, and E, minerals, beta-carotene, and lutein to give a boost to your eyes' strength.
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