Computers and the Internet are a wonderful invention and such a convenience to all of us. However, the eyestrain that goes along with surfing, emailing, and chatting with friends online can take its toll on your vision. If you are not taking sufficient breaks, at least every 30 minutes, your vision will eventually begin to weaken over time. The same goes for watching television or reading a book. Our eyes need to have a rest period. They also need exercise just like every other part of your body.



Unless you were born with poor eyesight, have a family history of vision problems, have astigmatism, or suffered a traumatic and serious injury to your eyes, this is probably not for you. You should follow your doctor's advice and recommended treatment plan for your visual concerns. However, for those of you who have reasonably decent eyesight or want to prevent problems with your eyesight later in life, then these simple steps could go a long way in improving your chance of better and clearer vision.

*Blink more. This is not the flirtatious type of blink associated with flirting. This means intentional blinking every few seconds, especially if you have been reading a while, watching television, or working at the computer. Your eyes need to be lubricated often and blinking provides that lubrication by moistening your eyes to keep them from drying out. Blinking also helps to stretch the eye muscles, massage the eyeball, and dilates and contracts your pupils more efficiently. Practice this step often. Once you form the habit, your eyes will respond favorably and you will experience less eyestrain and irritation.

*Exercise your eyes. Yes, even your eyes need some form of exercise. There are six muscles connected to your eyeball that are just screaming for it. These muscles need strengthening just like your arms, legs, and abdominal muscles. The required degree of strengthening is not nearly as intense as would be for other parts of your body. The exercises below are really easy to do and will not take a lot of time out of your day.

1. Get in a comfortable chair with your hands in your lap or resting on the arms of the chair. Breathe deeply to relax and release the tension in your body, neck, and shoulders. Once relaxed, make sure your eyes are facing foward. Look up with your eyes only as high as you can without straining, breathe in, and hold for a few seconds. Then look down with your eyes only as low as you can, breathe in and hold for a few seconds, breathe out. Repeat this two more times

Next, look to your right with your eyes only as far as you can comfortably, breathe in, hold for a few seconds, breathe out. Look up to the right, breathe in, hold it, breathe out. Then look to the left, eyes only as far as you can without straining, breathe in, hold, and breathe out. Look up to the left, breathe in, hold, breathe out. Bring your eyes down to the right, breathe in, hold, breathe out. Repeat twice more. Was that easy, or what?

2. This exercise is known as palming. No, not a card or magic trick. In this challenge you will again be sitting in a chair. First you need to warm up the palms of your hand. Rub them together vigorously. Lace your fingers and put them on your forehead with your palms covering your eyes. Make sure no light comes through your fingers. Keep your eyes closed and rested for a few minutes. Take about 20 to 50 breathes before removing your hands. When you open your eyes your should be able to see more clearly and have better focus. Try this when you have been watching television for a while, reading, or using the computer. It is a great way to rest your eyes and keep them lubricated at the same time.

3. This next exercise might be a little challenging for those of us who are not accustomed to using both sides of our brain. The right side of our brain controls the left side, and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. You will again be sitting in a comfortable chair with your back supported. Fixate on an object that is about 5 to 20 feet away from you. Slowly bring your thumb up into the line of vision about 8 inches from your face. You should see two thumbs if you are using both eyes. If you see two thumbs but one is not as clear as the other than you will need to practice more deep breathing, blinking, and palming, my friend.

4. Get plenty of rest at night. Give your eyes a break from the daily routine and get sufficient sleep. Staying up all hours of the night puts a tremendous strain on your eyes, not to mention your body. Believe me, I know. I can remember when I was in high school and even into my 20's staying up late or being out late until 2 or 3 a.m., and then having to get up in the morning around 6 or 7 a.m. to go to school or later to work. Throughout the day my eyes felt like someone was playing a nonstop game of darts or toothpicks were being stuck in my eyeballs. I had a good time, but my eyes definitely did not.

Include foods in your diet that will help improve your vision. Bugs Bunny always ate carrots, and he could see like a hawk. Up the vegetable and fruit intake and see your way to clearer vision. To Your Good Health.