A routine to do at home.
The optical qualities of the eye diminish over time: the lens becomes more opaque, the muscles weaken and the pupil narrows. As we age, the risks of presbyopia, drought eye disease, cataracts, glaucoma or even age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are increasing. While this aging is inevitable, practices can be put in place to delay it and/or limit its impact.
Simple exercises could prevent eye aging, according to yoga expert Jess Parkinson. Eye yoga involves gentle eye exercises that strengthen eye muscles, combat eye fatigue, and even improve eyesight. This practice may seem surprising, but its positive results have been demonstrated in numerous studies. One of them, published in 2020observed an increase in extraocular muscles, thus reducing eye fatigue.
To illustrate her point, the yoga expert taught on the show’s TV set This Morning a simple exercise routine to reproduce at home:
► start with palming, to relax the eyes and reduce eye fatigue: place the palms of the hands on the closed eyes and take a few breaths
► Continue with blinking to reduce dry eyes: do a series of slow blinks, then gradually increase the speed. Take a short break and repeat the exercise.
► Continue with eye rolling to improve peripheral vision and overall visual perception: slowly move your gaze (without moving your head) up, then to the right, down and left. Repeat in the opposite direction to the left, down, right and up. It is possible to continue by making circles with your gaze.
► Finish with zooming to improve the eyes’ ability to adapt to changes in focal length: change focus between near and far objects, first holding your thumb close to your face, then slowly extending it forward.
Remember to do this routine in a calm, relaxing manner and to take short breaks between exercises.