Hyperopia/Presbyopia exercises

Hyperopia theory

Another common vision defect is hyperopia (also known as farsightedness). It is the opposite of nearsightedness – distance vision is relatively clear, but close-up vision is blurry. This causes rapid eye fatigue when reading and can lead to headaches and irritated conjunctiva. Hyperopia is caused by an abnormal structure of the eyeball, which is either shorter or has a curved cornea. This results in light rays entering the eye focusing behind the retina, rather than on it.

You can find more information about this defect here

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Presbyopia theory

Presbyopia, or age-related farsightedness, as the name suggests, is one of the side effects of the overall aging of the body and the progressive deterioration of all human organs' functioning. It commonly appears in people over the age of 40. The condition worsens until the age of 60-65, when it stabilizes. Symptoms are the same as with hyperopia, meaning difficulty in clearly seeing objects close to the eyes. However, the underlying cause of presbyopia is different from the previously discussed farsightedness.

You can find more information about this defect here

On the other hand, a significant number of elderly people, who don't report the need to wear glasses, contradict the theory of inevitable vision deterioration with advancing age. Although it's hard to deny the fact that the eye lens becomes more rigid and cloudy with age, and the condition of the eye muscles worsens, it should be noted that Dr. Bates' method techniques offer an effective remedy for these unfavorable changes.

In presbyopia, we perform the same exercises as for farsightedness (available below).

Exercise D1. Reading of texts in various sizes
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Download the chart

For farsighted individuals, reading small print with relaxed eyes is the best method for improving vision. Texts written in fonts of varying sizes teach our eyes to focus on smaller and smaller letters while maintaining dynamic vision relaxation.

  1. Place the chart at a distance so that the largest letters are slightly blurred but easily recognizable.
  2. Start by looking at the large print, letter by letter. Let your eyes wander around the letters and their shapes, blackening in your mind what you are looking at. Blink frequently, and every now and then close your eyes and visualize what you just read.
  3. Now move on to the smaller print and repeat the exercise from step 2. If you can no longer clearly distinguish the letters, observe what you see, every strange and blurred object. Do not strain your eyes, just look at the contours, edges, and spaces between the letters and words. Blink to keep your vision constantly relaxed. Every now and then, close your eyes and repeat in your mind: "the page is white, and the letters are black."
  4. If your vision is not very tired, perform step 3 for even smaller text.
  5. Return to the larger print now. You will likely find it much clearer and much larger than at the beginning of the exercise.
Exercise duration in minutes: 3-5
Number of repetitions per day: 1-2
Alternative exercises: D2, D3, D4
Eye strain: medium
Exercise D2. READING INVERTED TEXT
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Inverted text exercise helps you focus on what your eyes see without the additional recognition of the book's text.

  1. Turn a page of any book 180 degrees and set it at a distance so that the text is slightly blurred.
  2. Read each letter individually, allowing the eye to move point by point, gradually and carefully following the shape of the letter. Try to blink often and breathe freely. If it helps, you can imagine a small black dot that you move along the shape of each letter. Do not try to recognize letters or words, just freely move your gaze over the letters. At the end of each line, close your eyes for a moment and visualize the blackness of the letters.
The further part of the exercise will be available only for Premium Zone members.
Exercise duration in minutes: 3-5
Number of repetitions per day: 1-2
Alternative exercises: D1, D3, D4
Eye strain: medium
Exercise D3. READING WITH "TROMBONING"

This exercise expands the field of vision for the "near point," allowing you to see printed text from an even shorter distance than before.

  1. Place a book or chart with texts of varying sizes at a distance where you can easily read the text.
  2. Slowly bring the sheet closer to your eyes until you can no longer read the text.
  3. When the print becomes blurry, move your gaze along the letters and words without trying to recognize them. Don't strain your eyes, just focus on the contours, edges, and spaces between the letters and words. Blink to keep your vision relaxed.
  4. Now move the sheet away from your eyes until you can read the text again.
  5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 several/many times.
  6. If you are using a chart, you can repeat the exercise with smaller-sized text.
  7. Check if you can now read comfortably at a shorter distance than before.
Exercise duration in minutes: 2-4
Number of repetitions per day: 1-2
Alternative exercises: D1, D2, D4
Eye strain: medium
Exercise D4. Exercise with two charts
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Download the chart

This exercise allows you to practice alternating between near and far vision, improving eye accommodation and spatial vision.

  1. For this exercise, you will need a special chart with letters for viewing at both near and far distances.
  2. Attach the large chart to the wall at a distance where you can see it clearly, and hold the small chart in your hand at a distance where the text is visible but slightly blurry.
  3. Read the next 3 letters on the large chart, close your eyes for a second and visualize the image of these 3 letters, then look at the small chart and read the same letters. Do the same with the next 3 letters.
The further part of the exercise will be available only for Premium Zone members.
Exercise duration in minutes: 2-4
Number of repetitions per day: 2-4
Alternative exercises: D1, D2, D3
Eye strain: high