8 Simple Eye Exercises To Keep Your Eyes Healthy

We exercise our arms, legs, abs, and even our behinds, but have you ever thought of exercising your eyes? Any eye doctor will tell you that it is good to keep your eyes healthy, and doing some simple exercises is a great way to improve the health of your eyes. Some exercises will improve vision, others will help people with tired or strained eyes, and still others will correct a lazy eye or blurred vision. Here are some very simple eye exercises that you can do from the comfort of your own home:

1. You Can Keep Your Eyes Healthy By Closing Them

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There’s a bit more to this one, but even if you just made sure you slept an appropriate amount of time each night, your eye health would imporove! However, for this exercise you will also need to use your fingers.

1. Close your eyes
2. Place a couple of fingers over each eyelid
3. Press lightly for 2 seconds then release (Make sue you don’t press too hard!)
4. Repeat 5 to 10 times
5. Allow your eyes to re-adjust to the light once repetitions are finished

2. Rolling Your Eyes Will Improve Eye Health

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Rolling your eyes is something you do when annoyed, but if done properly, it can help to improve your vision.

1. Roll your eyes slowly to the left in a circle
2. Repeat 5 to 10 times
3. Roll your eyes slowly to the right in a circle
4. Repeat 5 to 10 times

3. Look to the Side

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We look to the right and left all the time, but you may be turning your head more than using your eyes to do this, and your eyes still need this exercise to function better.

1. Sit or stand still for this exercise
2. Look as far right as you can (but don’t put too much strain on your eyes)
3. Hold your gaze for 5 to 10 seconds
4. Look to the far left
5. Hold your gaze for 5 to 10 seconds
6. Look back to the center for a second or 2
7. Repeat this exercise 10 times

4. Go Cross-Eyed

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Trying to look cross-eyed can be a bit painful, and is something that is usually done to make people laugh. But when you did it as a prank, you were actually improving your vision!

1. Pick an slender object like a pen to focus on
2. Hold the object at arm’s length, in front of your face
3. Bring the object towards your nose, slowly while keeping both eyes on it
4. After it reaches your nose, slowly move it back to arm’s length
5. Repeat 5 to 10 times

5. The Surprised Look Will Keep Your Eyes Healthy

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You know that wide-eyed look people have when they are shocked or surprised about something? It turns out that this look is actualy good for eye health.

1. Squint your eyes as if trying to se something far away
2. Keep your eyes squinted for 5 seconds
3. Open your eyes as wide as you can
4. Keep your eyes open for 5 seconds
5. Repeat 10 times

6. Use Your Hands to Heat Your Eyes

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If you’ve ever been annoyed by constantly seeing those “floaters” that come up when your eyes are strained or tired, you will want to try this exercise:

1. Rub the bottom part of your palms together to heat up the skin
2. Press (lightly) your palms over your closed eyes
3. Hold for 5 seconds
4. Repeat 5 times

7. Refocusing Will Relieve Eye Strain

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So many people work on computers now, and it’s no secret that computer screens can really strain the eyes. If you find your eyes getting tired, or the images on your screen going a bit blurry, it is a good time to do this exercise.

1. Look away from your screen
2. Pick an object 10 feet away from you and an object 25 to 30 feet away from you (make sure both are somewhat in line with each other)
3. Facing the objects you’ve chosen, put your thumb in front of your face, at arm’s length and focus on that
4. Put your thumb down and look at the object that is 10 feet away from you
5. Now switch to the object that is 25 to 30 feet away
6. Work backwards from there and look at the object 10 feet away
7. Put your thumb back in front of your face and focus on it at arm’s length
8. Repeat this process 5 to 10 times

8. Close Your Eyes – For Real

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If your job requires you to stare at a screen for 8 hours, or you haven’t been getting enough sleep, or your eyes are just overworked, sometimes the best “exercise” to improve your eye health is closing them for a few minutes. Even if you are not able to go to sleep, just the act of resting your eyes will help relieve any strain on your eyes.

1. Turn off your monitor and turn your chair away from any bright lights
2. Lean back in your chair, or put a small pillow under your head for support
3. Close your eyes
4. Leave eyes closed for 5 to 10 minutes
5. Repeat twice per day

Featured photo credit: HubPages via hubpages.com

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