Spend More Time Outdoors
While certain nutrients are important, the recommendation to spend more time outdoors may be the real key here. The most important prevention strategy appears to be spending more time outdoors in natural daylight and cutting screen time.
Among children aged 5 to 17 who live in urban areas, the myopia rate is 41%, whereas children who live in rural areas — and tend to spend more time engaged in outdoor activities — have a myopia rate of just 15.7%. Even spending just one more hour outdoors each week may decrease a child’s risk of myopia by 14%. Children who are genetically predisposed to nearsightedness are 300% less likely to need glasses if they spend at least 14 hours a week outdoors. So, a simple way for parents to protect their children’s eyesight is to make sure they trade some of their screen time for outdoor playtime.
The Bates Method for Nearsightedness
While the conventional view is that myopia is irreversible, many have been able to improve their nearsightedness using a method conceived by Dr. William H. Bates over 100 years ago.
A board-certified ophthalmologist at the top of his field, Bates taught his method to many, and it was so effective that it ended up being banned in New York after the optometrists lobbied the local politicians. Today, his method is being taught by Bates Method International. It’s also detailed in Bates’ book, “The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses.”
The Bates Method works by relaxing the muscles surrounding your eyes. You have six muscles on the outside of your eye that allow your eye to move and follow visual interests. The problem is that any number of factors can cause you to strain, and as soon as you strain, your vision starts to blur.
The action of straining essentially squeezes your eyeballs, contorting them. This makes your vision blurry, as it alters where the field of vision “lands” on your retina. Now you have three basic choices.
1) You can get corrective lenses. The problem is that now you’re creating permanent strain, 2) you can get laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), which permanently alters your focal length, or 3) find out what’s making you strain, then relax and get your vision back.
One of the most famous Bates Method techniques is palming. Here’s a quick summary of how it’s done. First, look around and notice the level of clarity of your vision at present. Then:
- Place the center of your palms over your eyes. Relax your shoulders. You may want to lean forward onto a table or a stack of pillows, to facilitate relaxation.
- Relax like this for at least two minutes.
- Remove your hands, open your eyes, and notice whether anything looks clearer. Usually, it will.
The Bates Method is quite simple, yet it requires patience and a certain amount of finesse. Remember, the goal to relax the eyes. Bates was also a proponent of sun exposure to the eyes to help correct vision problems. Get sunlight during the daytime, and avoid light exposure once the sun has set. Altering this natural order has consequences for our health, including but certainly not limited to our vision.
Ref: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/05/04/excessive-screen-time-myopia.aspx
