10 easy eye exercises to help vision and overall eye health

Evy Pitt Stoller
Updated

The gift of sight is one that I often take for granted.

And while only a lucky few have perfect vision, many more of us have to resort to contact lenses and glasses, with the severely impaired resorting to surgeries, canes, and seeing eye dogs.

Fortunately, when it comes to our eye health, things don't have to be entirely out of our control.

Just as there are simple exercises I can do to relieve aches and pains, there are easy eye exercises I can do right at home to improve my eye health and, in some cases, even improve my vision!

According to WebMD, "There are doctors who may recommend eye exercise for eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, increased sensitivity to bright light, tired eyes, or difficulty sustaining attention."

They continue, "Eye exercises are designed to strengthen the eye muscles, improve focusing [and] eye movements, and stimulate the vision center of the brain."

And while those with serious eye troubles or impairments should always see a doctor, it's great to know that we might actually have some control over our vision and eye health.

Scroll through this exclusive list of easy exercises below. It might sound crazy, but I'll personally be giving these a shot — it can't hurt!

Will you be giving these eye exercises a try? Let us know in the comments.

Exercise #1: The Eye Roll


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

  • One extremely common, easy-to-do eye exercise is the eye roll.

  • Slowly move your eyes in a circular motion, clockwise.

  • Repeat five times.

  • Switch direction, slowly rotating your eyes counter-clockwise.

  • Repeat five times.


Exercise #2: The Eye Press


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

SelfCarers.com shared this eye press exercise.

  • Press the tips of several fingers against your upper eyelids using light pressure.

  • Press for two seconds.

  • Release your fingers.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #3: The Eye Adjustment


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

Steven Aitchison, author of the book 100 Ways to Develop Your Mind, shared this exercise he calls "near and far focusing".

  • Focus on your thumb about 10 inches in front of your face.

  • Drop your thumb and focus on an object about 10 feet in front of you.

  • Switch focus to an object 30 feet in front of you.

  • Return focus to the object 10 feet away.

  • Raise your thumb to 10 inches away and re-focus on it.

  • Relax your eyes.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #4: The Eye Raise


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

Another common eye exercise may seem familiar from anytime you've had an eye exam.

  • Slowly raise your eyes until you are looking as far up as possible.

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Slowly lower your eyes until you are looking as far down as possible.

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Return your eyes to center.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #5: The Side-Eye


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

Similar to the "Eye Raise" is the "Side-Eye" exercise.

  • Slowly shift your eyes until you are looking as far to the right as possible.

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Slowly shift your eyes until you are looking as far to the left as possible.

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Return your eyes to center.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #6: The Thinker


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

HealthyAndNaturalWorld.com shared this "diagonal vision exercise."

  • Slowly shift your eyes down and to the left

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Slowly shift your eyes diagonally up until you are looking up and to the right.

  • Hold for five seconds.

  • Repeat five times on this diagonal.

  • Switch to the opposite diagonal and repeat five times.


Exercise #7: The Cross Eye


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

Dr. Mao Shing Ni shared this exercise with the Dr. Oz Show.

  • Hold a pencil straight out in front of you at arm's length.

  • Focus your eyes on the pencil.

  • Slowly draw the pencil towards your body, holding your focus on it until it is six inches from your face.

  • Reverse direction and slowly extend your arm back to the start, keeping your focus on the pencil.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #8: The ABCs


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

Another quite simple way to exercise the eyes is to trace letters.

  • Stare straight ahead.

  • Allow a word to come to mind.

  • Visualize the first letter of the word out in front of you.

  • Trace this imaginary letter with your eyes.

  • Repeat with each letter of the word.

  • For an extreme exercise, visualize and trace the entire alphabet.


Exercise #9: The Wide Eye


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

One great eye workout is the exercise known as the "Wide Eye."

  • Facing straight ahead, squint your eyes as much as possible.

  • Hold this squint for five seconds.

  • Open your eyes as wide as possible.

  • Hold this for five seconds.

  • Repeat 10 times.


Exercise #10: The Figure Eight


Maya Borenstein for LittleThings

This "Figure Eight" exercise works the muscles differently by moving the head and keeping the eyes in place.

  • Stare at a fixed object straight ahead.

  • Close one eye.

  • Move the head in a figure eight pattern, keeping the eye focused on the object.

  • Perform 10 figure eights.

  • Switch eyes and perform 10 figure eights.

These incredible eye exercises are so easy to perform, and can have incredible benefits for your vision and overall eye health.

Will you be trying out these exercises at home? Let us know in the comments.

Please SHARE these important tips with friends and family!

More from LittleThings.com:
Learn how our standards of beauty have changed throughout history
She repurposes a broken organ into a stylish new wine bar with just a little TLC
11 amazing and unusual ways to use garlic
Eight easy ways to instantly feel happy in your own skin!

Advertisement