*** This is a long post. Go directly to the resource guide if you want to skip the personal story.
In my post about not going to uni, I mentioned my eyesight and how getting a “clear flash” when I had high myopia ultimately led to my decision not to go to university. In this post I’ll elaborate more on my eyesight story.
I first got prescribed glasses when I was 8 years old. Growing up, we would go to church. One Sunday we arrived late and had to sit at the back of the hall. Lyrics were projected at the front and everyone would sing. That morning my dad noticed I wasn’t singing and asked if I could read the lyrics. I said no. A week later I had an eye test and was prescribed my first glasses. My prescription was something like L: -0.75 and R: -1.00.
Year after year my myopia would progressively get worse. It seemed every time I went in for an eye test my eyes got worse. Each year I would get an increase of -0.50 diopters or thereabouts. This kept going until I was 16 and had another eye test, my prescription was now L: -5.25 and R: -5.00, with a bit of astigmatism in the left eye.
It was during this eye test that my mum asked the optician if there was anything I could reverse the effects, or at least prevent it from getting worse. The optician said no. He said myopia was a genetic condition and that it might stabilise as I got older. I wasn’t satisfied with that answer. Later that night I googled, “how to improve my eyesight” and that started this whole journey.
The first information I came about was the Bates Method. There was very little I could find on the Internet but I found a PDF of his book, Perfect Sight Without Glasses. I read it and thought the ideas made sense. I tried a few techniques but with mixed success. I also read Aldous Huxley’s, The Art of Seeing, which was about his experience using the Bates Method.
The techniques seem to work, but I wasn’t completely convinced. The literature was more than 100 years old, and a lot of the cases back then were for low myopia. Bates recommended not using glasses at all, which was a suggestion I took on board at the time (but in hindsight this was not the best thing to have done).
At this point I was still figuring out if it was possible to improve my eyesight or not. It made sense in my mind that if my eyes got worse, they could also get better. It also did not make sense that evolution would create eyes that would have problems seeing in the distance because of genetics. Surely such genes would get eliminated pretty quick – it is a huge disadvantage to hunt or forage while having myopia. I also found the comparison of glasses to a pair of crutches interesting. If you broke your ankle you would be given crutches until your ankle healed, but you surely would not expect to rely on a pair of crutches for the rest of your life. Yet this was the case with glasses.
These were all hunches with no real evidence to back it up yet. Information on the topic was scarce. My optician told me flat out that what I was seeking was impossible. He said unless I got something like laser eye surgery, I could not improve them at all. In the resource guide I share links to why laser eye surgery isn’t a great idea.
Then I came across another book, The Secret of Perfect Vision. This book was better – more up to date, but again I wasn’t so sure about some of the things he recommended. Plus he was Italian and English was his second language, so the book was written quite badly, and difficult to understand.
Discovering the Right Method for Vision Improvement
It was only in 2013 that I felt I discovered the right method for vision improvement. This was 3 or 4 years after the initial eye test appointment that sparked it all off. I came across Todd Becker’s website with his ideas of hormetism, and the Frauenfeld Clinic (now EndMyopia.org). These two sites gave me the information I was after. There were success stories of people improving their eyesight, the methods made logical sense, and there were even research papers on the topic that I read through.
For a long time it felt like Liam vs. the Optometry Industry. Here I was, a naive and stubborn 16 year old thinking he knows more than a global multi-billion pound industry. But as I dived deeper I found others asking the same questions and today I feel comfortable sharing what I learned publicly. My eyesight has not fully recovered yet. It took eight years for my eyesight to deteriorate to the level it was at when I was 16 years old. This was eight years of poor vision habits, spending too much time playing video games, straining my eyes when things were blurry, not taking regular breaks, eating unhealthily etc. Now I’m shifting this trajectory the opposite way. I’ve been working to break bad vision habits, implement healthy ones and continually apply a positive stimulus so that my eyesight moves back to 0.00 diopters, or 20/20 vision. I share links for the how-to of vision improvement below.
When I first started vision improvement practices, I decided to go without glasses immediately. I thought I had found a cure for it, and I wanted to get rid of them ASAP. There was a psychological part of wearing glasses that needed addressing. During the eight years of wearing them every day, I hated them. I hated how they looked on my face, I hated how I couldn’t see without them. I hated the headaches I got from wearing them. When I first heard about vision improvement, I got rid of them immediately. My brain then started ‘blur adapting’ – my eyesight was still blurry, but my brain would adapt so that I could still function without seeing things clearly. At this point, I did not yet have the right method, but I couldn’t bear wearing glasses anymore. This brought me into a catch-22 situation where I knew it would benefit my eyesight if I wore lower prescription glasses, but I didn’t want to wear them at all. Plus I also felt like I could go ‘gung-ho’ on the method and be very aggressive in my improvements.
That worked to some extent, meditation certainly helped with not reacting to the added blur, which in normal cases would cause a ton of strain on the eyes, resulting in poorer eyesight. Instead, despite the not-so-ideal conditions, my eyesight improved during this time.
Today, I still don’t wear glasses. I’ve made some big improvements. On sunny days when I am outside, my vision is close to 20/20. At night time, or in indoor spaces with poor lighting I would benefit from wearing low prescription lenses (-1.50) then. I do sometimes wear them at home, or if I’m taking a walk alone at night. But I avoid wearing them in social settings because the conversations that come up are not ones I want to have yet. I do keep a pair of -1.50 glasses in my bag though.
I’m currently on a plateau with my improvement gains. Vision improvement can be likened to weight training. You need to vary up the exercises and increase the weights in order to keep making muscle gains. But I’ve gotten comfortable with my vision. It’s good enough that I can work on my laptop without glasses. I can use public transport fine – I can read the train times, maps etc. So my eyesight is ‘good enough’ now. But there are still gains to be made, especially for night time vision and greater stability of high quality eyesight throughout the day (for example, after big meals my eyesight sometimes isn’t as sharp).
Vision improvement is a skill. If I want to move past this plateau I will need to do more deliberate practice. In Cal Newport’s new book, Deep Work, he offers a formula:
High Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
I reworked the formula to apply specifically to vision improvement:
High Quality Vision = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Active Focus)
That is what I need to work on – more time active focusing to clear the blur. Working on increasing the sharpness and clarity of my eyesight. I know what i need to do, I just need to do it.
Seven Things I Discovered About Myopia and Glasses
- It is possible to improve your eyesight and no longer need glasses.
- It takes time to improve. My eyesight got worse gradually (from -1.00 when I was 8 years old to -5.00 when I was 16). My eyesight is now getting better gradually. I suspect it will take me a few more years to fully reverse my myopia (depending on my consistency of practice).
- The cause of myopia is not 100% genetic. For most people it is largely environmental.
- Laser eye surgery might be a ‘quick-fix’, but it is not a long-term solution and can have serious complications.
- Opticians have an incentive to make myopia more widespread in order to sell more glasses.
- Vision is very dynamic. A ‘one-size fits all’ glasses prescription is not adequate for the varying factors affecting visual acuity.
- Thus, the large majority of glasses wearers use them improperly, resulting in higher prescriptions.
What I am sharing here is not very common knowledge, especially among people who wear glasses. I was told it was impossible to improve my eyesight. But my experience tells me otherwise.
I don’t want to pretend like I am an eyesight improvement expert. While I probably know much more than a random person off the street I don’t feel comfortable explaining or teaching it. Instead I’ve created a resource guide below for further reading on the topic of eyesight improvement.
Why Bother Learning This?
If the reasons why you might want to investigate this issue further are not obvious, here are four points to consider.
- If you wear glasses, this can help you reduce or completely get rid of them without using surgeries like LASIK.
- Severe myopia increases the risk of macular degeneration, cataracts, eye floaters and retinal detachment (which leads to blindness).
- Enjoy a lifetime of good eyesight, lasting well into your elderly years.
- If you have kids, or plan to have kids, you will be better equipped to deal with the issue. If they complain about blurry vision you can help them improve their eyesight naturally first, using glasses and the opticians as a last resort. Getting prescribed glasses without good vision habits compounds the problem.
Resource Guide
Update (05/09/2018): I recommend Jake Steiner’s endmyopia.org 7-day email course as a very good way to get the foundational knowledge to begin this journey. His youtube channel also is excellent. I’m very happy to see him getting more traction with people and more success stories coming out.
The best place to start is to watch this video by Todd Becker titled, Myopia: A Modern Yet Reversible Disease:
It is quite a long video, but I would thoroughly recommend watching it through if you are serious about learning more about myopia.
Besides the video, I would also check out these two posts by Todd Becker: Improve Eyesight and Throw Away Your Glasses and FAQ for Vision Improvement.
Overview of the Method
- Your eyes become myopic because of too much near work. (E.g. too much time studying, using your phone or playing video games).
- You get prescribed glasses without addressing the cause of the problem (near work). Glasses compound the effect and your eyes get progressively worse.
- You start learning about vision improvement.
- You print off a snellen chart and make a note of your starting visual acuity.
- You start reading at the ‘edge of blur’ (D2) – however make sure to read mainly at D1 so you don’t overwork your eyes.
- D1. The ‘edge of focus’ – the furthest distance for myope (or closest for a hyperope) where a printed letter is completely in focus.
D2. The ‘edge of blur’ – the distance just beyond the edge of focus, where the slightest blur in the letter can just be detected.
D3. The ‘edge of readability’ – the furthest distance where you can intelligibly recognize each letter. - As you learn more, you dive into the different nuances of the practices – using undercorrections for seeing in the distance, using plus lenses to continually increase the stimulus, noticing double vision and fusing them, using patches to work on one eye more in case of imbalances etc.
The FAQ For Vision Improvement by Todd Becker really is the go-to guide for this.
What causes myopia?
The video goes into the causes quite a bit, but you can read more about the cause of myopia in this post: Understanding Your Eyes
Can’t I just cure my myopia with laser eye surgery?
Laser eye surgery isn’t a cure for myopia. It is more like inserting permanent glasses into your eyeballs by crafting them into a certain shape. This comes with significant risk, and even if it could be 100% risk free the treatment is not permanent. Many people who get laser eye surgery still end up needing glasses a few years later because they were never taught good vision habits. Laser Eye Surgery: Are You Putting Your Eyes at Risk?
Why has my optician not told me about this?
In places like Latvia and Russia, opticians are actually hesitant to prescribe glasses. When there is no profit motive to sell glasses, opticians are more focused on the long-term well being of their patients. When the increase of myopia means greater profits for the optometry industry, incentives become skewed. It is similar to the prescription drug industry where pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money marketing to doctors. Read more about how myopia drives profit.
What about child myopia?
Preventing & Reversing Child Myopia
Research Papers
Using Natural STOP Growth Signals to Prevent Excessive Axial Elongation and the Development of Myopia – I Morgan and P Megaw, 2004
Homestasis of Eye Growth and the Question of Myopia – Josh Wallman and Jonathan Winawer, 2004
Incremental Retinal-Defocus Theory of Myopia Development – George K. Hung and Kenneth J. Cluffreda, 2007
Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not throw away your glasses! The gist of this method is to gradually wean yourself off of glasses by using them strategically.
- Make sure you log your progress with snellen charts so you know if you are actually improving or not.
- Watch out for ‘blur adaptation’ – I was a sucker for this. If you pile on too much stimulus (blur) at once, you won’t improve. Instead your brain adapts to the blur, so that you can function but you are not making genuine improvements in visual acuity.
- Start with very small amounts of blur. The analogy is like weight training where you wouldn’t just start squatting 1200kg if you’ve never done squats before.
- Your opticians might not be the best person to share this with. They might discourage you and scare you. Empower yourself by trusting your experience and working out whether what you read here makes sense or not. Check out the forums for support and to hear success stories from other people doing the same.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found this post valuable. I made a lot of mistakes in my eyesight improvement journey and I hope sharing this will help others avoid them. I spent a lot of time faffing around and did not understand the practice properly. I really hated my glasses so when I first learned about these methods I wanted to get rid of them ASAP. Don’t rush into this! (I.e. don’t throw your glasses away immediately). I’m learning this lesson the hard way. The keyword here is small steps. Small improvements. Small changes. It does work, but it requires patience and consistency.
Good luck!
This is amazing to read about Liam, thanks so much for sharing so authentically and so fully, including all these amazing resources for people who find themselves in a similar situation! If my children’s vision ever suffers, I’m coming here first to check out your handy resource guide 🙂
By the way I just read a few other blog posts on here and they are wonderful 🙂 Thanks to the Awakin calls team who shared some links on your bio!
Hi,
I’ve just come accross your blog and i to want to improve my eyesight.
Could yoou tell me how much you have improved and how long it has taken you?
How ong do you normally print push daiy? also do you do any other exercises other than print pushing?
Thank you for any assistance or advice you may have.
Hey John,
I’ve improved to the point that during the daytime I am fine without glasses. At night time, or indoors with bad lighting I do still carry around a pair of glasses (-1.50) that I will use occasionally if I feel I am straining my eyes. Generally I am working more with double vision rather than blur now (my eyes have improved but the brain is still figuring out how to fuse the two slightly different images from each eye). My visual acuity has also become a sort of barometer for my stress levels / wellbeing levels. My mental wellbeing, what I eat, whether I’ve been staring at a screen all day etc show up by way of poorer eyesight. It makes me extra vigilant about the sort of lifestyle I am leading, which I feel is a positive thing for myself.
The general rate of improvement from the forums on Todd Becker’s website and Endmyopia.org is about 0.25 to 0.75 diopters of improvement per year, depending on how persistent you are with the practices and how well you can avoid bad vision habits.
Besides print pushing there is ‘pull focusing’ which is similar except for objects further out in the distance (e.g car licence plates, signboards – as far as you can get really). If you have low myopia (less then -2.50) you can practice this without glasses generally, but at higher levels you might need to wear ‘undercorrections’ – glasses that are about 2 diopters weaker than your official prescription.
Re your question about how long I print pushing for – as much as possible really. You can practice anywhere you can notice sharpness of vision and blur. The main thing first is to try and get rid of bad vision habits.. I still struggle with this sometimes, especially while using my phone.
Todd Becker really is the go-to guy for this. His video (above) is hugely valuable and he is also very active on the forums/email so if you have questions do email him too.
Hope that is helpful. I am away on retreat until the 30th so I won’t be able to reply till then.
Liam
Greetings Liam
hope u are well
just like u im browsing the web to see how i can loose my specs
u mentioned Tedd replies to emails.directly
i would really appreciate if u could forward me his email address
thanks alot
Hi liam….
I need some help…
I’ve weak eyesight of more than 5…
Please tell me how u improved…. Its very important for my future carrier… I’m in 2nd year…. So plzzzzz tell me something with which I’ll be able to improve my eyesight round about 2 so I can apply easily for everything next….
Hi Liam
Thank you so much, really inspired me. So relieved to read about someone that has gone through a similar experience. I really resonate with your feelng regarding not wearing glasses. I ve never wanted to wear glasses and I have rarely used them but my eyesght kept worsening coupled with hat you call blurred adaptation (that I did not know it had a name until today). I have been so intent on not wearing that at one point I forgot what it was to see clearly until the optometrician forced me to wear them again and oops my bad I was seeing half of the world.
I have -3 diptries now and I am so done with this hate it.Love how well you described the process but I have a few questons:
1.In order to do print pushing can I read from a computer-my books are all Pdfs?
2.-why is it that when you dont wear glasses at all the eyes dont work? shouldnt they be working full speed to adapt to all the blur?
3.-what kind of meditation did you use-10 mintes a day?
3.-Is there any specific diet to follow or food to avoid besides junk food and alcohol?
If you have a moment to answer that would be great. If not thank you a lot anyway for sharing-specially the blurring part, very useful to know that other person also was so stubborn to do it 😉
1.In order to do print pushing can I read from a computer-my books are all Pdfs?
Yes, I’ve done this myself and it does work the same, although I prefer print pushing with text on paper.
2.-why is it that when you dont wear glasses at all the eyes dont work? shouldnt they be working full speed to adapt to all the blur?
Becoming myopic is often a very gradual process. When you get a full prescription glasses without proper knowledge about how or when to use them, in my experience I found my eyesight got worse. My eyes got habituated to the prescription of the glasses, and then I got even higher prescriptions. So when I did take them off, the blur was way way way more than when I initially got blurry vision. A case could be made that if I was never prescribed glasses, but instead behavioural change for better vision habits, my eyes would have naturally corrected itself within weeks of practice.
3.-what kind of meditation did you use-10 mintes a day?
You can read this post on how I meditate.
3.-Is there any specific diet to follow or food to avoid besides junk food and alcohol?
In my experience sugary foods tend to give me spikes and big fluctuations in my vision. this also inlcudes high carb foods. In the past I found paleo diets to be the best, although I’ve turned veggie/vegan for ethical reasons now so I am searching for a balance that is both ethical and good for my body too.
Also I found intermittent fasting to be very good for vision.
Hi Liam,
Is there any chance you’ll be doing an update on your progress so far?
Amazing. I’ve just recently had to goback to using my older weaker glasses BC I broke my other pair in half. Yay. But for 3-4months using the old glasses my eyesight has improved. I am a -5.00 now in a -4.25 . when I asked the optrician if bad eyesight was reversible he laughed in my face, but to my eyes apparently it is reversible and now there more proof of that in reading your article. Thanks and glad to have stumbled across your read,
Dear Allison,
That’s fantastic, great to hear how that turned out to be a blessing :-).
I recently found out there’s a very active Facebook group with almost 1,500 people in it improving their eyesight, so you’re definitely not alone :-).
https://m.facebook.com/groups/560893680770705
And thanks for taking the time to write a comment!
With hugs,
Liam
Please check your mail, Liam. Thanks. 🙂
I went through your article but i did not understand what remedies u followed towards normalising your vision. Kindly suggest some.
Hey Ashwin,
The main practice is called ‘active focusing’. Check out this video for a good intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzzkC6qIpV0
Liam
Hey…this is so inspiring. Iv gotten to a point where I literally hate my glasses. Could you please guide me on how to go about this process…I really want to start.
Hey Penzy,
Not a great idea to hate glasses – I made that mistake. We want to use glasses skillfully in order to reverse the symptoms of myopia. It’s a lot of self-learning you’ll have to do though and the recommended reading part of this post is a very good start. Otherwise the Youtube channel Endmyopia is also creating awesome content.
Thanks for the comment and good luck! 🙂
Liam
The article is really useful.I have a poor eyesight of around -7.00.Even if I wear specs I’m not able to see clearly the things written on board from the last benches which my friends can see easily without specs.Plzz suggest.
Endmyopia.org
I am -4 both eyes with a little astigmatism and eye floaters, I don’t wear my glasses at all except when I watch TV . any suggestions on wearing glasses plzzzzzz
Hi Suhaib,
I don’t recommend just ditching glasses if you actually still need them to see well. The main learning point when you are starting out is to understand the ‘diopter bubble’. See here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X7g4WLoo3WU
So wearing your full prescription glasses for close up work (eg computer, mobile phone or reading) is not a great idea. At -4 it’ll be tough to not wear glasses and still use your computer so that’s when differential prescriptions are necessary. See here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_STOn8NjzM
Not a short answer. Spend time reading and learning as much as you can before making any glasses changes. It’s a long journey but definitely worthwhile. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
So differentials for near work butwhat about distance vision, how many dioptres less than normal? And currently I use glasses – 3.50 –3 soooo?
For distance that’s called the Normalised Prescription. Have you printed off a snellen chart? Jake recommends having your first normalised allow you to see 20/30 or 20/40 on the snellen chart. (Gets a little complicated because now we’re not using diopters, although I think there is a conversion somewhere..)
The basic gist is you want slightly less than full prescription so your eyes have something to work with – full prescription basically means no chance for your eyes to improve. A slightly reduced one where you can still see fairly sharp for most tasks but looking at distance objects allows you to do active focusing still.
Hi Liam
My name is saurabh and I have poor eyesight of power -4 in both eyes. Can you please suggest me some effective help. I am fed up of wearing glasses. Please help
Hi Saurabh,
The best resource I recommend nowadays is http://www.endmyopia.org
I also really recommend his new youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEhYxefHylpSgoiXDWcBrlA
This video on active focus is probably the best place to start:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzzkC6qIpV0
Good luck and keep me posted with how you do 🙂
Liam
Helloo Liam,
I understand that workin on your myopia automatically improves astigmatsm. Please do let me kno how you dealt with Cylinder values. When dropping diopters with each pair,did you gradually decrease Spherical only or decrease both Spherical and Cylinder equally? Is there any ratio(Spherical vs Cylinder) that i need to understand in this process?
Thank you.
Ian
Hi Ian,
This is beyond what I know at the moment so I can’t really answer. I had very low astigmatism so it was not a big issue for me.
Here’s a link to all the astigmatism related posts:
http://endmyopia.org/correct-astigmatism/
A video from Jake at Endmyopia:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NAqxMPZT8HU
Otherwise the next best thing is to ask this question on the endmyopia FB group:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/560893680770705
Hey I’m 14 and I I have the same thing but I am homeschooled and because of this I must be on my computer for a normal school day. Any tips ?
Hi Daisie,
Thanks for the comment! This video would be a good start to learn about the ‘diopter bubble’:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QzzkC6qIpV0
If you have to be on a computer all day try to make sure you take as many breaks as possible where you can gaze out into the distance. Looking up out a window for 20 seconds every 20 minutes is a good start but longer breaks after 1.5 hours is good to have too.
The eyes are dynamic and work best when the focal plane keeps changing. Using a computer if you’re just fixed on it for hours at a time the focal plane is static and so the eyes ‘seize up’ – imagine holding a grocery bag for hours at a time without moving your muscles. The muscle eventually spasms and can lock up. Regular breaks help prevent this from happening.
Do you currently wear glasses?
Hi Liam! I’m currently doing vision improvement and its tough! I’ve been at it for 7 months following some of Todds advice and some of Jake’s. just out of curiosity, have you seen an optometrist throughout your improvements? Have they confirmed your findings, if so, what do they say? I have an appt coming up and am REALLY hoping they find I’ve improved a little!
Hey Liam,
I was searching for ways to get rid (or rather reduce) my myopia and I stumbled across your interesting article. I’m 19yo and -4 on both eyes and I don’t wear my glasses unless I’m using technological devices. I don’t need them to read because I can see clearly everything. Would you recommend that? What can I do to improve my eyesight?
Hi Nadia,
If you can read without wearing glasses then yes that is recommended. The -4 would have been prescribed so you can see clearly in the distance and wearing them for close up will create a huge strain on your eyes.
The next step to actually start improving is to learn how to active focus:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QzzkC6qIpV0
Then you can start working out how to get a normalised prescription for yourself. If you search for that on the endmyopia.org website that would be a good place to start,
hi, could you just tell me what Todd’s mail is?
Hi Frank,
You can reach him via here:
http://gettingstronger.org/the-author/
Hi
Actually i could not understand what we have to to do to remove spectacles.
Please give me a reply
Hi Richa, my post was more of a reflection rather than a how-to, best to check out http://www.endmyopia.org for more concrete advice.
Hi Liam,
When you are just starting out this method (for close-up activities), is it okay to continue using your full strength glasses for distance or do you have to get a weaker distance pair right away?
Also is there a minimum or maximum amount of print pushing you have to do before you see improvements- some say 15-20 minutes a day is enough while others do it for several hours and I’m confused by this.
Dharini
Hi Dharini,
Sorry for the slow response – I get a lot of spam comments and the real ones get buried away unfortunately.
Yes when you are just starting it’s OK to use your full strength glasses for distance vision – that was originally what they were prescribed for, not for close-up.
Not sure if there is a so called minimum amount. You have to do enough so that you ‘get’ it. Once you get it, you can practice it almost every moment throughout the day – making sure you have adequate breaks and not overstraining your eyes. I would say 20 minutes a day of fairly deliberate print pushing is good as a start.
Liam
Good day Liam,
Thanks for all the hard work you put in and for sharing this valuable information with us.
Quick question, is it ok to still use contact lenses and can you use contact lenses when doing these exercises?
Hi Chad, apologies for the slow reply, I’ve been away on retreat.
Short answer is yes. Trouble with contacts is you can’t take them off easily. For people with higher myopia they’ll usually need two pairs of glasses: a differential (for close up) and a normalised (for medium-long distant vision). So if you have contact lenses that have a normalised prescription and you begin to use the laptop, it won’t be ideal to take off the contact lenses then. Some people get around this by having a plus lens differential that they put on ontop of their contacts when they do close-up work. It adds a bit more complexity but can work.
Hi Liam,
just slightly confused by your reply so to clarify are you saying that if you are wearing contacts, i can purchase glasses with a plus lens to wear if I have contact lenses?
Thanks a lot
Hi Liam,
Another question i forgot to ask was, do you know anything about Keratoconus and if you do could it be cured without a cornea transplant?
Hi Chad, hmm no I don’t, out of my depth here unfortunately!
This is amazing. Thank you! I thought I was alone doing all the stuff I was doing and thinking. I was baffled when I woke up one day seeing differently/better. Maybe it’s because of my frequent putting away of my glasses. Thanks for the input.
That’s great Miki. Yes there’s a growing community for sure. There’s a very popular FB group now with a few thousand members associated with endmyopia that is regularly churning out success stories :-).
Hi Liam,
With the plus glasses, do you have to increase the strength gradually as your eye sight gets better with the print pushing and also gradually weaken the short sighted glasses?
Thanks.
Depends on what your prescription is really. Generally for close up work you want 2 diopters ish less than your full prescription. Unless you are already quite a low myope plus lenses probably won’t be necessary – you can do distant active focusing to get the positive stimulus for improvement instead.
But otherwise yes the gist is to gradually reduce the negative diopters.
Btw sorry for the late reply, have been away on solitary retreat!
Thanks for posting all of this info!
I started to take my own approach by using Adlens adjustable glasses. The lens prescription is adjustable between +3 and -6 and they cost $30. They work by turning a dial that slides two overlaying lenses which affects the strength. I got them to avoid going to the optometrist. I haven’t been measuring progress though, or using any of the techniques here, but I will now 🙂
Great to hear Rich. Those glasses seem ideal for this, although I’ve never tried them. Thanks for sharing!
Hey liam
I have tested active focus.. from 23cm to 29cm but I experienced that my distance view decreased back to 27cm which my prescription is now (3.75) I try to convince my dad who is a doktor but he refused to…
Any suggestion to improve vision without using any money?
Read up on all the posts in wwww.endmyopia.org you don’t have to pay for the content. When you understand the theory behind it you might have to spend some money on different pairs of glasses, but if you buy them online they are very cheap nowadays (£5-£30 per pair)
Also can I just improving eyesight whenever I take my glasses and just read from the blur horizon?
Pretty much, although the practice is to skilfully use glasses to manage the blur horizon. One trap is that you might just hang out in blur so you have to gage the correct amount of blur that would work as a positive stimulus for improvement. Too much blur and your eyes will give up so to speak.
I couldnt find active focus , can I still improving my eyesight by looking at the edge of blur?
Just looking at blur won’t improve your eyesight. You’ll just be hanging out with blurry vision. Edge of blur means you are still seeing sharp, but 0.5cm or 1cm further away and you start to notice some blur. Work in that space. Think of blur as weights if you want to build muscle. Start off with low weights then gradually increase.
So work at that some blur space?
How long for you to drop 1 diopter?
To drop to 1 diopter*
Jake Steiner says average improvement rate is around 0.5-0.75 diopter improvement per year. It’s not a magic quick fix. So understand the theory and cultivate good vision habits that become automatic in order to keep at this for the long haul.
Hi Liam,
If i’m infront of y laptop often and play xbox a lot, do you have any good tips to avoid my eyes weakening any further? I know you need to take breaks every 20min but besides that could I use my spectacles as a tool while playing xbox etc.
You are doing a great job Liam. You have inspired a lot of people for sure, including me. I’m 16 years old and I’m prescribed glasses 3 weeks ago. The feeling is really heart-breaking for me. I never thought I would be stuck with glasses. I have a -1.5 on my left and -1.75 on my right eye. I’m sure the cause of Myopia for me is staring at my PC for too long. I usually play video games about 5 hours per day. Will, changing my focus every 20 minutes and print pushing daily help me get a 20/20 eyesight? If so, how long should I do and what should I include in my diet.
Thank you very much on advance!
Hey Mahdin,
It’s great you found this information early on. Three weeks ago is not too long and it should in theory be relatively quick to reverse myopia at this early stage, provided you understand everything properly.
I would say the most important thing now is to understand that your glasses are full prescription glasses for seeing in the distance. So do not wear them for close-up work! It will be over kill and lead to stronger myopia if you wore full prescription glasses while playing video games for 5 hours every day.
At -1.5 and -1.75 you might not need an extra pair of glasses for close-up work because the text should still be sharp at this level. Can you read a book in good lighting clearly at approx 50cm away? And if you pushed it further to say 55cm or 60cm, does the text start to blur just very slightly? If so, this is perfect range to begin active focusing.
I would recommend studying http://www.endmyopia.org thoroughly and checking out the youtube videos too. This one is good to start with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzzkC6qIpV0
Thank you for your quick reply Liam. As for your question, my answer is ‘yes’. I can see near texts crisp clear from approx 60 to 70 cm. I want to thank you for making me realize not to wear glasses while reading a book or using my computer. I was wearing my glasses while doing these activities these three weeks and I did realize my eyesight getting much weaker. I was starting to get worried. Thank you very much for fixing my misconception, it means a lot to me. And, I will follow all of the steps you provided and I will also give updates on my progress! Thank you once again and may Allah bless you. Wish me luck! <3
Yes do share updates and of course wishing you luck – although these are simply habits so no need for luck if you integrate them into your life :-).
Dear sir
I have – 13 number in my both eyes. Can I improve it. if yes please suggest
Yes still possible I believe. Will take many years though but still well worth the effort in my opinion. Check out http://www.endmyopia.org to start and the associated YouTube channel. Best of luck.
Liamchai do you use Jake’ s 99$ a month program or what…
I have astigmatism too any suggestions for that
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your comment!
No I’ve not paid for his content.
All the information you need to improve is on his website (endmyopia.org). The paid stuff just helps organise the information in an easier way and I believe he offers support via the forums. But there are other places like gettingstronger.org where you can ask questions.
I can’t say anything about astigmatism as mine was never very high. There are a few posts specific about astigmatism though if you do a search on endmyopia.
Hello,I am really inspired from you.I have
eye problem of L(-1.00)& R(0.75).What should
I do?
Please please suggest me..
Hi Sanjay,
Starting with learning about myopia and its causes is the best start.
I can recommend http://www.endmyopia.org to start. Let me know if you have more specific questions as you learn.
This article more or less mirrors my own experience.
I would say that sensitive people suffer more often and become myopic as children when exposed to the brutality of life. For me it started at school. I was forced to recite the Lord’s Prayer in school assemblies against my will. The regimentation of school life and the fear caused by a hamster wheel of continual exams and assessments is what tipped me into myopia.
I am convinced that myopia is a base, instinctive and automatic mechanism designed to insulate us from a world we find threatening.
Vision exercises will not work if on some fundamental level we find the world to be threatening. We have to want to change our relationship with ourselves and the world. We need to emotionally and spiritually engage with the world.
Re-engaging with the world and life and embracing it fully without fear is the remedy for clear vision.
Incidentally, the issue of myopia becomes a political one too. I remember reading an article about the completely different way some Eastern European communist countries used to deal with myopia.
It’s unthinkable now, but some countries used to proactively promote healthy vision (without using glasses) for students who were beginning to experience the beginnings of myopia. They would be offered remedial eyesight classes to reverse the myopia. Some of these types of classes are still used in parts of China today.
Conversely, with capitalism, there is no incentive to restore vision naturally. Instead there is lots of money to be made from worsening vision. To my mind this is a moral crime.
My greatest vision improvements come when I am mentally engaging with the world. The advice offered in this post is the best advice to be found anywhere.
Hi Ella,
Wow thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and insights. I do agree a lot with what you have written.
Would you share more about what you did to better mentally engage with the world? (I.e. Specific practices/habits or changes you made?) Would love to know more.
Thanks for your reply Liam. It’s difficult to articulate, but I’ll try…
To most people this will be a subjective, internal journey and it may feel like juggling several balls at the same time. It may also feel like ten steps forward and nine steps backwards sometimes. This is because the eyes are not cameras. They are indeed windows to the soul which are controlled by various muscles which are ultimately controlled by our emotional state. It’s why our eyes flicker uncontrollably during REM sleep.
I will list the habits I am trying to cultivate (for myself), so that they become second nature. They may not work for everyone and some of them may seem nebulous. Again it’s a personal journey.
(All of these examples are within the context of the abstaining from wearing glasses and living with ‘the blur’)…
*1. Remember that clarity is your friend.* We need to recondition our automatic emotional response of fear and anxiety when seeing something in our vicinity with unexpected sharpness and clarity and reassociate it with feeling calm, happy and relaxed. We do this by not shying away from the sharpness but instead embracing it, observing it, breathing deeply, dropping the shoulders and reminding ourselves that this is a good thing.
*2. We need to let our eyes go where they want to.* This is easier said than done, but practice makes perfect. Our gaze may drift off to some strange places but don’t question it. Accept it.
*3. When reading or looking at a smartphone/tablet screen, move the screen slightly away to make the eyes work a little.* Notice any tension and aim to recondition the mind. In future these little tests will be seen as games to be enjoyed. (See Print Pushing.)
*4. Feel a sense of gentleness.* Practice looking at the world with gentleness. This may sound strange, but it’s what people with perfect vision do already. They see effortlessly. They don’t even have to think about it. Seeing with gentleness is a reminder to the self not to strain the eyes and to be aware of any tension.
*5. Express yourself.* Cry, laugh, get it off your chest. Layers of resentment and emotional baggage are not conducive to clear vision. Have fun doing the things you enjoy.
*6. Use the automatic accommodation process we all possess.* Just like smartphone cameras auto-focuse on images whilst switching between near and far distances, so do our eyes. When we wake from a sleep or open our eyes after meditating we notice this instinctive process happening in a split second. Our default mode is to obtain sharp images but the myopic mindset, defined by fear and anxiety soon overrides the clarity and replaces it with the familiar safety of ‘the blur’. (Remember Points 1 and 4.)
*7. Be your authentic self.* You can’t see clearly if you’re not clear about who you are.
*8. Snap out of the dream.* Being myopic is like being in a foggy dream state. Employ simple strategies in the every day. Eg. whilst waiting for something to cook in the microwave oven, try to bring yourself into the moment. Feel the here and now. Look at the display on the microwave and allow the image to be sharp. Feel yourself as part of the bigger space you’re in. Remember gentleness, using accommodation and letting your eyes go where they want to.
*9. Use palming techniques if your eyes feel tired and remember to blink often.* Yawn and stretch if you feel like it and gently smooth the backs of your hands across your closed eyes to relieve tension.
*10. Nurture a desire to see the world clearly and to be part of it in a joyous way.*
*11. Look at distant objects and things around the home, even if you can’t see them clearly.* This is what people with 20/20 vision do already and it’s a behaviour that sends a message to our subconscious brain: ‘this needs to be seen clearly’.
*12. Give yourself time.* This is difficult to explain, but in essence means not rushing ourselves in any way. This includes visual habits too. Allow yourself time to think, time for everything, so that you can be in your own ‘real time’ and stay present.
*13. Eat a healthy diet.* Sugar can deplete certain minerals like chromium, which the eyes need to function properly.
*14. Exercise.* This can relieve stress and anxiety, the foundations upon which myopia are built. HIIT exercise cancels out the flight or fight response for a few days. (Dealing with the root causes of stress, anxiety and depression is another subject.)
*15. Don’t be competitive with yourself.* If using a Snellen chart be aware of the slight anxiety produced from the feeling of having to perform. Testing yourself or setting targets can work against you. Do not berate yourself when experiencing blurry vision. Forgive yourself instead.
Physical sensations to expect may be a feeling of slight dizziness or general intensity when seeing something with clarity. It’s a different world to ‘the blur’ and feels like spiritual muscles are being flexed.
Sometimes there may be mild physical sensations around the sides of the eyes that feel like tightly wound elastic bands suddenly unravelling.
Vision is a dynamic process and glasses are simply crutches that ultimately create visual atrophy similar to the wasting away of unused muscles. It may take time but have self belief. It *IS* possible to improve your vision.
Listen to your inner voice. It will guide you.
Wow Ella! Thanks for taking the time to write all those points down and sharing it here. I especially like #1 and #15. Being afraid of the sharpness definitely rings true. I found it even more so when my vision started to be “good enough” – even though it wasn’t as sharp as it could’ve been, it was functional and there was, as you say, this fear of the vividness.
Likewise with #15, the whole “vision test”, especially when done at so young for most people conditions seeing to be a competition and a reminder of forgiveness is important.
Thanks again for expanding your thoughts. Do keep in touch.
Liam
Hello, thank you so much for your article and for sharing your story! I received my glasses when I was 9 and my parents thought they were doing good for me but every time I went to visit the optician my eye sight was worse.
I have a question, where did u get ur glasses that were lower than your normal prescription. Did u get them from your optician? And also how does using a lower prescription help? Should I wear them all the time ( my vision is the when the distance is blurry but objects up close to me I can see clearly) thank you.
If your optician is aware of and open minded to vision improvement methods then they might consider giving you lower prescriptions – but these opticians are still rare and not the norm unfortunately.
Otherwise you buy them online, like https://www.zennioptical.com
(Although I can’t vouch for that one as I haven’t bought ones in a while now – researching around for the best sites should be easy enough).
Regarding how a lower prescription helps, I recommend learning all you can from the links I share at the bottom of my article. And also sites like http://www.endmyopia.org (and the association YouTube channel).
Basic gist is: glasses are a single focal plane. Yet we use our eyes for seeing multiple focal planes (close-up, medium length, distance etc). Opticians usually prescribe just one glasses for all distances. Most people with myopia complain about not being able to see far, so opticians prescribe glasses that are optimised for seeing far in the distance. Yet they don’t say “don’t use these glasses for reading or using your laptop”.
Imagine binoculars – you use them for the distance. It’d Be silly to use them to see an object right in front of you. This is what glasses are like, but on a less exaggerated level. Yet over months/years of misuse, they don’t make the eyes happy.
It’s not “lower prescriptions will save you”, it’s skillfully using the right prescription for the right distances and cultivating good vision habits that over the long-term will lead to better eyesight. This is a marathon, not an instant fix. So I highly recommend making sure you thoroughly learn the causes of myopia first and the rationale for why it works before you decide to change your prescription. You are deciding to take things into your own hands, so there’s a big element of self-responsibility and self-trust here.
Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions.
Hi Liam,
I wanted to know if it is possible to improve my vision or at least keep it the same. I have -4 in both eyes, and it has increase tremendously, about 1 diopter in a year which is a huge problem, I dont know if that is because I am 15 and still developing or what, anyways thanks for your help!
Hi Rach,
Yes it is definitely possible.
The eyes can get worse every year, they can also get better every year. The key thing to know is that your full prescription glasses are never to be worn while doing close-up work (like using your laptop/phone/reading books). They were prescribed to see in the far distance – not 50cm in front of you. It’s overkill if you’re using your glasses that close. If you’re at -4, you can probably read text from about 25cm or so – maybe further. See if you can read comfortably without glasses, or consider using an older weaker pair you might still have lying around.
I recommend http://www.endmyopia.org nowadays as the best resource I’ve come across. The email course is very good. And his youtube channel also is very good: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEhYxefHylpSgoiXDWcBrlA
All the information you need is on that website/youtube channel. You don’t need to get any of the paid stuff ever. You’ll need some self-responsibility though for this, so take your time in understanding the material properly – understanding the causes of your myopia and how glasses work. Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Good luck,
Liam
Hello, I am wondering how much time per day you are following the healing techniques?
Thank you
Anita
They’re not really techniques or exercises so to speak. In the sense that you do them for 20mins once per day or several times per week. These are habit changes that you are then over time meant to do every waking moment (our eyes don’t stop working until we fall sleep).
So we start by understanding what habits we need to stop doing and what habits we need to adopt (eg stop using full prescription glasses for close up, spend more time at edge of blur to actively focus).
Hey, I’m 18years old, and i have -3,5 in both of my eyes, i was -3,25 when i wore the glasses, but after i went to the doctor he told me that i decreased by 0,25 there’s when i got shocked.
Is there any hope i can improve my vision without any lisek just by the eyes exercices ? I really struggle from this, i wish if can only improve my vision to -2 with the exercices.
Hey Omar,
Thanks for your comment. Yes absolutely you can.
Do the free email courses on http://www.endmyopia.org That will give you the basics for how to improve your eyesight.
Also this podcast is a good listen too for a big picture:
http://www.danielvitalis.com/rewild-yourself-podcast/building-better-vision-jake-steiner-96
Then there are all the links I mention in my article and also a few extra links dotted around in the comments.
Feel free to email me with any specific questions that come up for you as you go on this journey.
Jake Steiner (of endmyopia) says on average people improve their eyesight by 0.75 diopters per year. So for you to get to lower than -2 is definitely very possible. But don’t just settle for -2, go all the way back to 20/20 and ditch glasses for good!
Best,
Liam
Thank you Liam ! You motivated me !
I want to ask you because i just got into exercising, Should i still wear my glasses in my daily basics ? because my doctor told me to always wear them to prevent the eyes from doing to much efforts wich lead them to be exhausted then get worse, so i wear them all the time.
What should i do about the glasses ?
Thanks 🙂
I have – 2 in both eyes ….plz suggest me …..i am using glasses from last three year …plz suggest me
Hi Alisha,
Have you completed the 7 day email course on endmyopia.org? I’d highly recommend there to start to get a basic understanding of this journey.
Liam
Waiting for your answer sir 🙂
what do you think about plus points?
Hi, I have myopia 2.75, can I use positive 2.25 points for reading and will the process go faster if I use large plus points?
+2.25 plus lenses would probably be far too strong for -2.75 myopia. Might be OK to go without glasses for reading distance (50cm or so) or a low minus lens.
Jake Steiner doesn’t recommend plus lenses although he has used them as a preventative if one might need to do a lot of close up work and cannot get out to do some distant gazing outdoors.
Hi liam so there is only 1 thing i want to ask. Today iam doing active focus so after that should i stop wearing my glasses for laptop project or not? I have -4 and i need my glasses to see the text in my pc (sorry my english is bad)
So i do this active focus technique to cure my myopia, after the active focus can i wear my glasses or not? for it to work
Active focus isn’t really an exercise like going to a gym. The idea is to work skilfully with lenses so that active focus is something you can make a habit and practice constantly throughout the day.
I’d really recommend the email course on endmyopia.org so you can get a good foundation first. This is not an instant fix and will require some effort in understanding and persistence in creating new habits.
Hi liamchai,I have -5.0 D on both eyes and 0.5 astigmatisms in both eyes (The astigmatism was observed in my recent eye test and to be honest, I don’t really care about that at the moment). I have never worn the -5 D glasses when I got them (which was 2 years ago) because I just hated the lens and me kind of had an inkling that glasses were making my vision worse over time because in 6 months my diopter levels went from “officially” from -3.5D to -5D but did not know what to do so I kept wearing my lower prescription. I have been wearing the glasses which have been given me 2 years ago which are -3.5 D and I can see most things clearly except medium range to long range text (around 5m – 6m away but I can see buildings which are miles away clearly and on the Snellen chart I can see 20/40 with these. My question is do I have to start my journey with -5 D or do I start with -3.5 D and go lower from then? because using your diopter calculator, the true value I got was -3.5D so I’m a bit confused where to start from. I am going to get driving lessons so I need to have 20/20 vision or better so do I start wearing the newer prescription for 20/5 vision, buy glasses which are -4 or stick with my older prescription?
Hey Parag, I would stay with where you are at now with the -3.5 and then go through the email course on endmyopia.org to get a good grounding on how exactly this works. Don’t be too quick to make self-prescriptions without understanding it all first. It’ll save you a lot of time this way.
For driving – do what you need to for it to be legal and safe on the roads.
Hie Liam,
I have very high myopia. -9.45 on the left and -13.5 on the right. My right eye’s power suddenly went up significantly due to degenerative myopia.
Will these techniques be able to help me?
Michelle
Hi Michelle, I don’t know about degenerative myopia but the same principle works for low and high myopia. It will just take longer to reverse.
I recommend endmyopia.org nowadays. The free email course is a very good resource and the YouTube channel also is very good. If you search for endmyopia success stories you might be able to find someone who had similar degrees of myopia to you.
Hi Liam. I just want to thank you for sharing this information! I was considering Lasik for some time now, but I actually accidentally discovered one of the eye exercises you mentioned when I was reading a book without my glasses and noticed how my eye focused something that was just on the edge of focus. I started doing this just out of pure curiousity, and that year, my prescription improved from -3.75 to -2.75. When I stopped doing this, my vision returned to -3.75. And now, its gotten even worse to -4.50. This is one of the reasons I’m not able to do lasik now since my eyes haven’t stabilized. Perhaps I will consider doing this again, now that I have more resources and actually understand what was happening!
Gladys, that is very interesting that you found that out accidentally and improved by a whole diopter! Yes great, if you’ve already seen for yourself that eyesight *can* improve (even though it got worse), I feel it is good grounds for making back those gains now with more resources and understanding. Keep me posted on your journey, i’d love to hear 🙂
Wishing you all good things,
Liam
Please explain how to lower the cylinder and when if someone is doing the jake steiner astigmatism reversal method. I do not understand if you are slowly reversing by lowering the prescription then how and when and how much do you change the cylinder because it seems to me that in time it will change also.
Hey Liam!
Thanks for sharing your personal experience with all. It’s inspiring for people like me, who really want to get rid of the ever-increasing prescription and highly powerful glasses.
Actually, I want some advice from you before I start using glasses of lower prescription. I was prescribed glasses of -1.75D( Left eye) and -1.25D(Right eye), way back in 2013(I was 13 years old).Over the years, my prescription kept on rising. However,when I went for a check-up in September 2018, optometrist gave me the prescription which was extremely high. It was -4.00D for my left eye and -2.75D for my right eye. After I changed my glasses to match the new prescription, for some days I felt like it was too powerful for my left eyes. But gradually, I got used to it for distance viewing. However, for close up activities like reading and all, till now i find my glasses bit more powerful. So, few days back, I googled on how to reduce myopia and came across Jake Steiner’s endmyopia.com. I even availed the 7 day free guide. I have even gone through his YouTube channel. From there, I came to know about using lower prescription glasses for close up, active focus and all. Then, I started searching for personal experience of people who have reduced myopia. Thankfully, I came across your blog.😊
Now, I really want to get back my natural vision. I want to go for the method of using lower prescribed glasses. My current
prescription is -4D for my left eye and -2.5D for my right eye. Would it be fine if I get -2.5D(Left eye) and -1.5D(right eye) for close-up work like reading and working on computer? And what prescription would be correct for the distant vision, if I want to improve my eyesight? I’m 19 years old now.
Please do reply.
Hi Liam,
I have a question to ask. There is a large difference between my eyes- my left eye is 0.00D and my right eye is -1.5D. If I reduce my glasses prescription from -1.5 to -1.25, how long should I stay on the reduced prescription for before reducing to -1.0 lenses?
(I know I need to do some patching as well but not in public).
Dharini
Greetings Liam
I am 19 years old girl and I have been prescribed spectacles L: -0.50 and R: +0.50 recently just a few months ago. What do you reckon, is there something that I can do about it?
Thnkyou
Hi Qunain, yes absolutely. If you start off with the free intro course on endmyopia plus videos on YouTube that would be a good start to understanding how this all works. Your prescription is low so it would be much easier to start now than later.
My myopia correction in Right eye -2.70 and Left eye -1.50 Do I need plue-lenses for Left eye or Should I start print pushing for both nake eyes
Hi Mimi,
I wouldn’t use plus lenses like this in the beginning. Naked eyes is fine for print pushing. You can just move the text further back if it doesn’t give enough of a challenge.
Hi Liam, thank you for sharing this awesome information with us all even tho i didn’t read all of it, but i think i got the most parts of this blogg. So i got glasses for like 2 weeks ago with -2 both eyes cause i can’t see things from far( nearsighted) and yeah things are blurry. And i got really disappointed when the optician said i need glasses cause I’ve never thought i would’ve get glasses in my life but whatever. When i asked the optician who took the eye test if i did something to worse my vision( like watching Tv, movies, phones etc. He said i did nothing to worse my eyesight and yeah i was surprised. Then i asked if it was genetics and he said yes, whatever once i got my glasses i only use them when im at school to see the board and when im using my computer just because i don’t want my vision to get worse. But i don’t to get used to my glasses cause i feel like it’s gonna make my vision and my eyesight weak and that’s why i only use them when im at school and when using my computer. So i was wondering if i should keep using my glasses when im only at school and when using my computer or phone, or will my vision get worse if i don’t use them everyday? I’m so frustrated about this honestly, plz give me some tips on what i should do. I want to switch to contacts but still have my glasses cause Glasses looks really horrible on me and sometimes i get headache. So plz tell me what i should do … This text must confuse you but i really hope u understand it. Btw im turning 16 in 21 days and yeah tysm for taking ur time reading this and i hope i get a reply
Hey Mohamud,
Thanks for commenting.
First I would say try and read as much of endmyopia.org as you can. Or check out his youtube channel with the same name. It’s your eyes and your responsibility, so I would say learn as much as you can.
What you are doing with using your glasses only when you need them is good. Your glasses were prescribed so you can see clearly in the distance (like for the whiteboard). The important thing to not fall into deeper lens-induced myopia is to not use your full prescription glasses for close-up work. This is very important.
At -2 diopters, text starts to blur probably around 50cm away, so you can probably still use the laptop/read quite comfortably I assume? Re-read the parts on D1-D3, the edge of focus/blur/readability. Then with as much of your close-up activity as possible, read at D1 (edge of focus), occasionally pushing the text further to read at D2 (edge of blur). Then back to D1. As you do this, practice ‘active focus’ and see if you can ever clear up the blur in D2. If you can get this experience of active focus – like when a camera auto=focuses to make the image sharp and crisp – you have the ticket to eyesight improvement. Just keep practicing and maintain good visual habits (i.e. taking regular breaks, avoiding sugar and not using full prescription glasses for close-up work).
See this vid for active focus tips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtL9rL-u_7g
Regarding contacts, I wouldn’t get them. I think if you study eyesight improvement enough and understand the gist of it, you can get back to perfect eyesight and not need glasses or contacts at all.
Good luck Mohamud and happy to answer anymore questions that might come up for you.
Hey Liam, I found this story funny because I’m 16 and have a similar prescription (-4.25). I’d like to try to reverse my myopia, but my parents won’t let me buy reduced lenses. I have some old glasses that make me see 20/200. Will this method still work?
Hey Kyle, can you read at the edge of blur with those glasses for close up work (50-60cm away)? That’s the main thing to start with – to stop the strain from close up work and full prescription glasses.
Also check out ‘Learning with Mark Warren’ YouTube channel. I came across it recently and he teaches some great tips that I came across independently myself but haven’t been able to express as succinctly.
Hi Liam,
My daughter is 10 years old ZAand is was tested last week, resulted with -2.0 in both eyes.Is there anyway improve her eyesight without having glasses? if so how long will it take,and what eye exercises can she do?
Please reply as soon as possible!
Thanks Suba
(She plays iPad for 1-2hours per day)
The process definitely works for improving eyesight regardless of age. It’s also a clear medical fact that lenses can induce deeper myopia for those who wear it incorrectly (search google scholar for lens-induced myopia). Show her how to use her lenses properly, never let her use it for close up work. Treat them like binoculars – you don’t use binoculars to read a book, only for seeing in the distance where it is blurry.
Probably her ciliary muscle has spasmed and isn’t able to relax fully. So at this early stage, her eyes might be able to bounce back if you spent 2 to 3 weeks camping with her in nature with lots of distance. No glasses, no iPads. Given her age too her eyes should be quite flexible.
The key thing is being able to teach her ‘active focusing’. If you work through the free email course on endmyopia.org yourself and then see if you can explain it to your daughter. If she can have the experience of taking what was previously a blurry image and make it clear, she should be able to understand the process very quickly.
Hi Liam,
I am 24 yrs old, and I was having eye power of -5.5 in left eye and -3.5 in right eye. But few days ago after eye checkup, i was prescribed with power of -6 in left and -4 in right eye. Which is extremely high. Now i was thinking of wearing the old glasses instead of this newly prescribed powered glass. But i was scared if this ruins my eye power more.
I was wondering since my eye power is very high, if there is possibility of improving my eye sight at this age. If yes, how. Can you provide me with some technique or recourses. That would be extremely helpful.
Moreover since I am a software engineer, I have to spend most of my time near laptop. So I wont be able to avoid using computer or phone very much. I can take break in between though.
Your suggestion would be extremely life saving and helpful :'(
Hi Nijhum,
Check out this guide: https://usermanual.wiki/Document/No20BS20guide20to20Vision20Improvement2020Sept202016.1842200539
It’s the most succint guide I’ve found so far that details most of the steps to this process.
Progress might be slow if you cannot avoid needing to use your computer, but if you can change your set up to have as much distance as possible from the screen and if at all possible regular breaks. But get a good undetstanding of how the proces works first so you know what you are doing and won’t have fear that you are making your eyesight worse.
Hi Liam,
Thankyou for your sharing your wonderful personal experience, it really motivated me.
But i am having a doubt with print pushing, I read in the edge of blur just when the text starts to become blurry, do i need to continue reading the blurry text or wait for the text to become clear and crisp.
Also when I blink and open my eyes the text is still blurry, please help me. Please clarify my doubt. Thanks in advance
Let the text become crisp and clear. Spending too long just reading blur is not helpful.
It might take a while for it click. But once it does you’ll know it’s possible. Start small – just very very slight blur. Bring text closer so you know what sharpness and clarity looks like. Push back into the blur, try to actively focus to clear it up. If it doesn’t happen, bring the text back closer into sharpness again. Keep repeating this until it clicks basically.
In the beginning it might be helpful to have a set 20 min session just to help you get the experience of active focusing clearing text up. It can take several weeks just to get this experience.
Hi, I have myopia -5,75 and -5 and new prescription for glasses. My old glasses are -5 and -4,5. I use lenses -5 and -4,25. I dont use glasses at all, only lenses. Do how strong lenses I need to use? And what excersice at the beginning is worth to do?
Hi Sabina,
I would recommend going to endmyopia.org and signing up for the free email course as a basics to get understanding on all this. I’m not a behavioural ophthalmologist. Just here sharing my own experiences.
Liam