Short sightedness, also referred to as nearsightedness and myopia, is an eye defect in which objects in the distance appear blurry while objects that are nearby appear in focus and clear. Nearsightedness is most commonly caused by a misshaped cornea, lens or eyeball. This makes the light that comes into the eye to be focused slightly in front of the retina. Performing some eye exercises may improve your eyes' ability to see objects in the distance.
Eye-Finger Exercise
Performing the eye-finger exercise may increase your ability to focus on distant objects. Begin the exercise in a standing position in the middle of a room. Your knees should be slightly bent and your back straight. Face a picture or poster on the room's wall, then hold your right index finger up a few inches from your nose. Focus your gaze on your fingertip, ensuring that you can see it clearly before shifting your eyes towards the wall. In a quick motion, shift your eyes from your finger to the image on the wall. Initially, stand just a few feet away from the wall. If the image is clear, move farther away until the image becomes fuzzy. As the exercise improves your ability to see the image from a distance, continue moving farther away until you can make out the image from a great distance.
Focus
The focus exercise was created by optometrist Marc Grossman. To perform the exercise, sit in a comfortable position and hold a pencil or your right thumb about 6 inches from the tip of your nose. Without staring at the pencil or thumb, glance at it and then quickly shift your gaze to an object on the opposite side of the room. Look at the chosen object for a few seconds before moving your focus back to the pencil or thumb. Repeat this process up to 10 times per sitting. As your ability to clearly see the distant object improves, focus on looking at items that are farther away.
Pencil Push-ups
Pencil push-ups may prevent your eyes from feeling strained when you look at distant objects. Take a pencil and hold it near your nose at a length just before it starts to appear double. Next, imagine you have a tic-tac-toe board directly in front of your face. Extend the pencil, making it touch each of the imaginary squares before bringing it back to the starting position. Follow the pencil's movement with your eyes. This exercise should be performed once per day.
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Writer Bio
Kristin Davis has been writing since 2004, specializing in the health and fitness fields. She has written for online and print publications including Fitness Monthly and Creative Circle. Davis has certification through the International Fitness Professionals Association as a personal trainer.