4 Exercises to strengthen your eyes

Improve your vision right now.

Do you know 4.2 billion people have impaired vision? That's two-thirds of the 7.9 billion people alive today!

I'm going to share five simple eye-care tips with you. These tips will help to improve your eyesight.

If your eyes are still 6/6, it is good to do these exercises so that you keep your eyes as healthy as possible. It may even help to prevent the need for glasses in the future!

This includes exercises and practices that strengthen your eyes.

If you have weak eyes, you will notice a big difference within a few months. Unfortunately, you can't build up good vision in 24 hours. It works just like muscles that you train at the gym.

Why do our eyes get weaker?

Let's jump straight into it. The first step is to understand why your eyes get weaker in the first place.

There is a reason why so many people need glasses.

The need for glasses is increasing rapidly these days. Why is this happening? It's not natural (the same way that muscle loss isn't natural - we just don't exercise as much as we should).

The main reason behind weakening eyesight is actually our phone!

We now spend more time glued to our cellphones than we ever have. We check social media. We entertain ourselves and interact with the whole world through this small screen.

This makes your eyes focus at a distance very close to you for extended periods of time.

Your eyes contract when they focus on a close distance. They expand when they focus on a far distance.

Try this exercise right now:

Focus on your phone in the same proximity that you usually keep it. Notice how your eyes contract to focus on the screen.

Now focus on a spot on the roof as far away from you as you can. Notice how your eyes expand to focus at that distance.

Keep the balance.

These days we focus too much on closer distances. This is done either on the phone when we aren't working, on the computer at work and even on screens when we relax at home.

The eye muscles are forced to contract for extended periods of time. This causes muscular imbalances that need to be corrected.

Children spend less time playing outside or with friends on a physical level. They aren't as exposed to natural elements as they should be. This increases the future need for spectacles later on in their life.

What can we do about it? Quite a bit actually!

Improve eyesight naturally

1. Look at distant objects regularly

2. Wash your eyes by washing your mouth

3. Focus on your finger at different distances

4. Blink rapidly

Invest in your eye health.

1. Look at distant objects to improve your eyesight

The first exercise that you should do is to look far at a big, distant object.

For example when you walk you should have a look into the sky. You will feel that your eyes are much relaxed.

If you don't walk or place yourself in environments where you are exposed to beautiful scenery at longer distances, you need to start. Your eyesight (and mental well-being) depends on your ability to get away from screens for long periods of time.

This exercise is simple stuff, but it's very effective.

Look into the distance for as long as possible. That's the only thing what you have to do. Do it every single day.

I recommend that you spare as much time as you can to do this. An hour a day is good. Take time during this session to focus on distance imagery for a few second intervals. Build up to 30 second intervals. Remember to blink while doing this!

While it is important to make time to focus on distant scenery, you can do this in your office or in your room as well.

Look the objects that are furthest away from you in your office. Do this regularly to give your eyes a break from contracting so much.

It will be a nice gap for your eyes to relax.

Get away from screens occasionally.

2. Wash your eyes regularly

Washing your eyes regularly is very important for their health.

How do you wash your eyes?

You do this with cold water. Get into the habit of doing it every day in the morning.

It's more effective if you the hold water in your mouth instead of putting it directly on your eyes.

How does this work? Why should you hold water in your mouth to wash your eyes?

Holding water in your mouth stretches the vessels of the eyes. This will help you to wash your eyes better than before.

Let's test it out right now.

Blow air into your mouth. Narrow your lips like you want to blow out the candles of a birthday cake. Fill your mouth with air and continue blowing as some air leaks out.

Feel how your eyes feel when you do this. They are more open. If you exhale the air and empty the air out of your mouth, you will feel like your eyes are relaxed.

If you hold water in your mouth, it will help to expand your eyes vessels and hydrate them. This is how you clean your eyes.

It is best to do this four to five times a day or at a gap of every 2 to 3 hours. 

Do it every morning and try to do from time to time throughout your day.

3. Focus on your finder at different distances

The third exercise is very easy but extremely effective. It is just as important as the others.

We tend to focus on the same distance for prolonged periods of time. This isn't natural. The muscles in our eyes can lock into the same position because we focus on one length for too long.

This creates muscular imbalances within the eye. It limits our ability to switch focus from one length of focus to another easily.

Do this exercise regularly to help you switch from one type of focus to another and prevent muscle locks within the eye.

Extend your finger far away from you. Focus on it for a few seconds. Switch your focus onto something closer to you. You can focus on your shoulder, your elbow or your upper arm. Switch focus to a further distance like a wall or distant item.

Now focus on your finger while extending it further away and bringing it closer to you repeatedly. Do this for a few times and then focus on something else before returning to your finger again.

Repeat the process for a few minutes. Do this at least twice a day.

This will help you to strengthen your eyes and prevent them from favoring one length over another.

Change focus.

4. Blink rapidly

The last exercise that I would like you to do to get good eyesight is just as easy as the others.

All you have to do is close your eyes tightly for 15 seconds and then open them again slowly.

After opening, blink your eyes for 1 minute.

This exercise has two main important functions.

Firstly, it helps to lubricate the eyes so that your eyes don't get too dry. We tend to forget to blink when we stare at screens. This leads to dry, irritated, weak and itchy eyes.

Secondly, this exercise helps blood with vitamins, minerals and oxygen to reach your eyes. Our eyes should be more like a river - not a desert.

This is like food for your eyes.

Lack of blinking puts strain on the eyes because of a lack of movement, hydration and important nutrients.

This exercise will improve blood circulation to the eyes and give them everything that they need.

Share these images to social media to remember them.

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Day 4 (96 hours) into my fast

These are the results of my fast so far - 4 days into it.

Fasting disclaimer

The information on this page is not intended as medical advice in any way. I simply share my own, personal experience with fasting for anecdotal reasons. If you want to fast for an extended period of time, I recommend that you check in with a medical practitioner before attempting to do so.

See the results below.

How much weight can you lose on 4 day water fast?

I weighed 69 kg (152 pounds) at the end of day 4. I weighed 68.5 kg (151 pounds) at the end of my third day of fasting. I weighed 73.5 kg (162 pounds) right at the beginning of my fast. This means that I went down from a 5 kg (11 pounds) loss to a 4.5 kg (10 pounds) loss.

I am glad about this because it means that my body has absorbed more water and my blood pressure is starting to rise after falling so low initially.

Most people lose an average of a pound of fat for every day of fasting. You can find the reference to that fact on the results page from my first day of fasting (linked below).

I am not fasting for weight loss. I am doing it in an attempt to heal my asthma and allergies. My symptoms have almost completely disappeared and I haven't taken an antihistamine since before I started my fast.

Fasting helps your body to heal.

Should you exercise before a fast?

I fasted for 36 hours and 44.5 hours before I felt like I couldn't continue anymore. I exercised like normal leading up to these two fasts. On this current fast, I didn't exercise for 5 days leading up to my fast and I've already fasted for more than double of my previous fasts.

I think that this is one of the many reasons why I was able to go on for so long without giving up. My theory is that exercise placed an energetic drain on the body, and that you will then enter into your fast with sub-optimal energy levels. This then decreases the amount of energetic strain that your body can take before it depletes its sugar stores and finally moves over to fat for energy.

Should you exercise during a fast?

I would definitely exercise during a shorter fast (24 hours or less). Our bodies are much stronger than we realize. If we started to deteriorate so shortly into a fast, the human race would not have been able to survive before the farming era.

Should you exercise during a prolonged fast (2 days or more)?

The documentary that I linked to on my first day's report shows fasting clinics that encourage their patients to exercise - and they fast for very long periods of time (up to 40 days at a time).

I haven't done any exercise so far. I am currently waiting until I feel strong enough (and have enough energy) to do so.

I chose to rest until I am ready.

Energy levels during a fast

My energy levels have been better than the first three days. They aren't at their normal levels yet (I need to motivate myself to write this blog post). I get winded easily and find myself needing to catch my breath often.

The weird part is that I get a little energized whenever I move around. I have energy similar to a caffeine buzz when I drive somewhere in the car or when I walk around for whatever reason. It is very possible that a little exercise would coax my body further into ketosis and therefore give me more energy. I might try this theory tomorrow and see what happens.

Fasting for better eyesight

I am actually fasting for my allergies and asthma, but I only noticed today that I haven't had any eye strain at all since the beginning of my fast (4 days ago). It seems that my eyes are stronger and can take more screen time during a fast.

This effect might be similar to the fact that fasting protects healthy cells from chemotherapy. Fasting most probably protects the cells in the eyes from damage in a similar way.

Does sleep return to normal during a fast?

I slept horribly the first night of fasting. I slept deep and fully on the second night. I didn't sleep so well on the third night. I supplemented with magnesium and I slept much better afterwards. This lady who documented her 54 day water fast with daily videos also had some nights where sleep was amazing and other nights where good sleep was hard to come by.

Similar to her notes, I find that I sleep better when my electrolyte levels are in the right balance.

It's okay to stress your body occasionally.

Emotional benefits of fasting

I have definitely felt more relaxed and at peace yesterday (day 3) and today (day 4). Previous mental stresses and anxieties have gone away. I have much less anger and frustration towards the people around me. At the same time, I am much less worried about what other people think about me.

This guy had the exact same emotional effect during his 21 day fast. He explains that he didn't worry about what people thought about him anymore. It was like a mental enlightenment that came to him. This feeling of less anxiety was so strong, in fact, that he unblocked a lot of people that he was worried were giving him nasty comments.

A few things happened today that would usually elicit a small sense of fear in me. I didn't feel emotional distressed at all.

There is this one person (different scenario) that gives me a dirty look whenever they see me. It used to really frustrate me and it used to give me real negative thoughts about them. In the last two days, though, it didn't bother me at all - literally not one bit. I actually smile at them now and want to greet them as warmly as possible.

I feel as if I've matured emotionally over the last two days. Small things don't bother me anymore. It is almost as if fasting has given me some mental clarity and a brand new perspective (and I'm only on day 4!).

Why does such a strong sense of calm and relaxation take over us during a fast? Dr. Mindy Pelz explains that certain brain chemicals are released during a fast that greatly benefits the mind.

1. Growth hormone can increase by up to 1300% from 12 hours into a fast
2. Ketones that heal the brain are created 13-15 hours into a fast
3. BDNF (brain fertilizer) and serotonin increase dramatically from 24 hours into a fast
4. Inflammation reduces throughout the body at 24 hours
5. GABA production (which initiates a sense of calm) goes up from the 36th to 48th hour
6. Neurons regenerate at this time as well
7. Dopamine receptor sites are re-calibrated from around the third day of fasting.

Fasting is good for your brain.

Check out my experience from my first day of fasting.

Learn about my second fasting day.

Read about my third day of fasting.

Here are the effects 24 hours after I end my water fast.

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