Don\u2019t worry; the exercises I\u2019m going to teach you won\u2019t even make you break a sweat.\u00a0 These exercises have been designed to give your eye muscles a workout.\u00a0 Like every other muscle in your body, with exercise, you can strengthen your eye muscles and as a result, make them healthier and more flexible.<\/p>\n
Stronger, more flexible eye muscles will go a long way towards improving your ability to read faster.\u00a0 The added strength and flexibility helps your eyes perform all the movements necessary to increase your reading speed and expand their peripheral vision.<\/p>\n
While I\u2019m at it, I\u2019m also going to teach you a few tricks to help your eye muscles relax.\u00a0 Feel free to practice the relaxation exercises after spending time on the computer or any time your eyes feel tired or strained.<\/p>\n
Remember, you\u2019ll reap the most benefit if you practice these exercises regularly.\u00a0 So please, be sure to make time to do them.\u00a0 Trust me, they won\u2019t take very long.<\/p>\n
Remember also that while these exercises can enhance eye health, they will not do anything to correct vision that\u2019s impaired in any way.\u00a0 Only your eye doctor can help with that so don\u2019t expect any miracles.<\/p>\n
Now, one final word of advice.<\/p>\n
Consider doing these eye exercises where no one else can see you.\u00a0 To an outside observer, some of what you\u2019ll be doing will look pretty strange.\u00a0 And some of it may make it look like you\u2019re sleeping.\u00a0 So be careful!<\/p>\n
Alright, let\u2019s begin with an easy eye exercise designed to help improve your peripheral vision.\u00a0 Basically all you\u2019ll do here is stretch your eyes as far left and as far right as you can.\u00a0 This exercise works your eye socket muscles, also known as the extra-ocular muscles, and helps increase their flexibility.<\/p>\n
To start, sit or stand and focus your vision straight ahead.\u00a0 Next stretch each hand out to the side like you used to do when pretending you were an airplane.\u00a0 Stick each thumb up towards the sky and hold that pose.<\/p>\n
Now, keeping your head straight, move your eyes to the right until you can see your thumb.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t quite see it, just stretch your eyes as far to the right side as you can.\u00a0 Then glance to the left while making sure you keep your head still and facing straight ahead.\u00a0 Continue glancing right to left and left to right nine more times.\u00a0 Repeat the sequence of 10 glances to each side for a total of three sets.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it, you\u2019re done!\u00a0 See, I told you it\u2019d be easy!<\/p>\n
The next exercise is even easier.\u00a0 It involves rolling your eyes, something most of you probably already know how to do pretty well.\u00a0 Only this time when you roll your eyes, it won\u2019t be because you\u2019re being sarcastic or reacting to something that someone else said.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be doing these eye rolls on purpose to help strengthen the muscles in your eye socket.\u00a0 These are the muscles that help your eyes move vertically, horizontally, and all around.\u00a0\u00a0 Purposely rolling these muscles increases their flexibility, too.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s all you do.<\/p>\n
Focus your eyes straight ahead at the 12 o\u2019clock position.\u00a0 Now move your eyes to the right in a circular direction until your eyes make a complete circle and are back at the 12 o\u2019clock position.\u00a0 Now blink.\u00a0 Beginning again at the 12 o\u2019clock position, rotate your eyes counterclockwise until you make a complete circle and arrive back at the 12 o\u2019clock position and then blink again.<\/p>\n
Continue rolling your eyes for 5 sets of clockwise and counter-clockwise rolls.\u00a0 While rolling your eyes, be sure to really exaggerate the movement to help stretch those muscles as far as comfortably possible.\u00a0 That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll bet your eyes are already beginning to feel better.<\/p>\n
Next, instead of rolling your eyes in an anticipated circular motion, this exercise will have you moving your eyes in all sorts of random directions.\u00a0 All you\u2019ll be doing is using your eyes to \u201cwrite\u201d letters on the wall.<\/p>\n
Starting with your eyes focused straight ahead print your name on the wall in front of you using appropriate eye movements to make each letter.\u00a0 For example, if your name begins with the letter \u201cL\u201d, position your eyes at the top of the letter and sweep your eyes downwards, then over to the right, and you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n
Continue moving your eyes until you\u2019ve printed all of the letters in your name on the wall in front of you.\u00a0 When finished, write your name again, only this time instead of printing the letters, try writing them in cursive.<\/p>\n
You can keep going as long as you want with this exercise, and you can \u201cwrite\u201d any words that you want.\u00a0 Like eye rolling, eye writing exercises help make the eye muscles more flexible and help increase your eyes\u2019 range of motion.<\/p>\n
Next I\u2019ll show you a simple way to strengthen your ciliary muscles.\u00a0 The ciliary muscles help your eyes focus on objects near and in the distance.\u00a0 They accomplish this task by flattening the lenses in the eyes to focus on distant objects and rounding the lenses when you need to focus on near objects.\u00a0 The ciliary muscles give your eyes their amazing ability to rapidly change focus on a wide variety of distances.<\/p>\n
This is a great exercise for everyone, and especially those of you over age 40 since that\u2019s the age when the ciliary muscles begin losing their strength.<\/p>\n
In this exercise you\u2019ll begin by focusing for a few seconds on an object that\u2019s only about 5 or 6 inches in front of your eyes.\u00a0 Then you\u2019ll change your focus to something in the distance that\u2019s about 10 feet away.\u00a0 As you change your focus between up-close and distant, be sure to do so slowly and only change from near to far after each close and distant object comes into focus.<\/p>\n
You can focus on anything you like in the distance as long as it\u2019s about 8 to 10 feet away.\u00a0 For the up close portion of the exercise try holding your finger or a pen 5 or 6 inches in front of your eyes.\u00a0 Continue slowly changing your focus from an up close object to a distant object ten times and you\u2019re through.<\/p>\n
The final eye exercise I want to teach you actually helps your eyes relax, although it may not seem like it at first.\u00a0 All you do with this exercise is open your eyes up as wide as you can while inhaling your breath slowly and deeply.\u00a0 Then you squeeze your eyes shut really, really tight while slowly exhaling, and you hold that squeeze and your breath for about 30 seconds.\u00a0 Open and squeeze your eyes 5 times, take a brief break, and repeat the sequence 5 more times.<\/p>\n
Besides relaxing your eyes, opening and squeezing helps increase muscle flexibility.\u00a0 The deep inhales and exhales help bring more oxygen and blood towards your face and eye area, too.<\/p>\n
I already told you about the 20-20-20 exercise so I won\u2019t repeat it here.\u00a0 Just remember to do it whenever your eyes feel strained.\u00a0 It\u2019s another great way to flex your ciliary muscles.<\/p>\n
The last few eye exercises are good to do when your eyes need to relax.\u00a0 Like the others, they\u2019re quick and effective.<\/p>\n
The first is simply an eye massage and it\u2019s something you probably already know how to do.\u00a0 Just be careful if you wear contact lenses, or you might find the massage accidentally pops the contacts out of your eyes.<\/p>\n
With eyes lightly closed, use the tips of your fingers to create tiny circles on your eyelids while applying light but firm pressure.\u00a0 You can also rapidly tap your eyelids with your fingertips, or try a combination of both.<\/p>\n
No matter which way you choose to massage your eyes, be sure to move your fingers all around the eyes.\u00a0 Let your fingers guide the way across your eye balls, working their way as high and as low on the eye surface as they can comfortably go.\u00a0 Let your fingers massage the area under your eyes too.\u00a0 And while you\u2019re at it, consider giving your forehead and both temples a little rub to relieve any built-up tension.<\/p>\n
Another simple way to give your eyes a rest is to close them and cover them with your palms for up to 5 minutes.\u00a0 First, remove your glasses if you wear them.\u00a0 Next quickly rub both palms together to create some heat.\u00a0 Then, using a table or your desk to support both elbows, form the palms of your hands into a cupped shape by imagining that you\u2019re holding some water in the palms of both hands.\u00a0 With cupped hands positioned towards your face, close both eyes.<\/p>\n
Now move your head down until each of your eyes is covered by each cupped hand.\u00a0 Your hands will now be supporting both your neck and head.\u00a0 Close your fingers up and move your and hands around until you form a tight fit around each eye that blocks out as much light as possible.<\/p>\n
Your hands should be touching all around your eyes, but should not be directly touching them, kind of like a suction cup.\u00a0 Think about your neck and shoulders and take a moment to relax them.\u00a0 This is the position you want to hold.<\/p>\n
Now, for the next few minutes, I give you permission to take deep breaths and daydream about whatever makes you happy.\u00a0 For best results, include the most pleasant details you can image.\u00a0 This last exercise is an excellent way to give your eyes the brief periods of rest they need to continue on with whatever task they, and you, need them to complete.<\/p>\n
And there you have it \u2013 a series of exercises designed especially for your eyes.\u00a0 If you know of any others, feel free to practice them as well.\u00a0 Like the rest of your body, the more exercise you give your eyes, the better they\u2019ll perform.\u00a0 And better performance definitely goes a long way towards increasing your reading speed.<\/p>\n
Finally, let\u2019s not forget about the most beneficial way to rest your eyes and that is with sleep. \u00a0No matter how busy you are, there comes a time when each day must end, so let it.\u00a0 Sleep is refreshing, enjoyable and necessary to maintain good health.<\/p>\n
I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed the Ergonomics portion of the speed reading posts.\u00a0 I\u2019ve covered a lot of really important information in this section and I hope you\u2019ve found it useful.\u00a0 Some of it may not be useful, so pick and choose as appropriate to your situation.<\/p>\n
The main point I\u2019ve tried to make in this post is this:\u00a0 Eye fatigue is real, and when left untreated, will slow your speed reading progress.\u00a0 So always take time to exercise and rest your eyes.\u00a0 And if you need to, make an appointment to visit an eye doctor!<\/p>\n
Equally important to reducing eye fatigue is making sure your reading environment is as ergonomically-correct and glare-free as possible.\u00a0 Taking time to properly prepare your reading environment will go a long way towards increasing both your reading speed and you ability to comprehend more.\u00a0 Just try it and you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
As I have said throughout these posts, faster reading with better concentration is the gateway to gaining more knowledge.\u00a0 And in today\u2019s increasingly competitive world, more knowledge means more power.<\/p>\n
I wish you the best of luck and all the knowledge you can amass!<\/p>\n
Video Version of Post
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