Palming
Palming can be a great exercise for relaxing muscles and reducing fatigue. Rub your hands together until they’re warm, then cover your eyes with both palms, making sure that no light is seeping in. Close your eyes, and practice deep breathing for five minutes.
Roll your eyes
Channel your inner moody teen with this simple exercise. Make sure you’re sitting or standing straight, with your shoulders relaxed. Then, look to your right, and slowly roll your eyes upwards, then to your left, then downwards. Repeat this in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. This technique can help to strengthen your eye muscles and reduce eye strain when done regularly.
Jump convergence
This exercise helps to practice control and strengthens your eyes when moving them back and forth between distances. Obtain two focus points: a far fixation point up to four meters away, and a near point, such as your finger or a pen, held at an arm’s length from you. Switch your gaze between these two points until both remain in focus when you ‘jump’ between them.
The ’20-20-20 Rule’
This exercise can help to reduce eye strain and regulate our screen time. The ‘20-20-20 Rule’ dictates that for every 20 minutes we spend looking at a screen, we should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds- the time it takes for your eyes to completely relax.
Pencil push-ups
A pencil push-up helps the eyes with convergence when looking at an object nearby. Firstly, grab a pencil (or pen) and focus on the tip or the eraser. Then, slowly begin moving it towards your nose, keeping it in focus until it eventually doubles. Slowly start moving it back outwards again, and repeat several times.
Look to your left and right
Another simple technique, practicing looking from left to right is a great way to help prevent eye strain. Take a deep breath in and look to your right, making sure to avoid stressing your eyes, then slowly exhale while moving your eyes to the left.
Relax and close your eyes
One of the best ways to strengthen your eyes is to expose them to darkness. It can help to boost the photo-receptive cells in your eyes, in turn helping with clear vision. Close your eyes and relax your eyelids completely, or move your gaze up and down.
Figure eight
There are several ways to do the ‘figure eight’ technique. You can hold your thumb out in front of you and trace a figure eight in the air, following it with your eyes. Alternatively, you can pick a point on the floor about ten feet away to use as a start and finish point for your shape, and slowly trace one with your eyes.
Near/far focus
Honing your focusing system involves training your eyes to switch between near and far focus. Hold your thumb roughly ten inches from your face, focusing on it for around 10-15 seconds. Then, turn your focus to something about six feet away and hold it for the same amount of time. Repeat this several times.
Blinking
The simplest eye exercise of all: blinking. Consciously blinking can help to regulate blood circulation in the eyes, maintain eye cleanliness and give our eyes a break from the harsh light of our phone and computer screens. If your eyes start feeling dry, make sure to give them a breather and spend a few minutes paying attention to your blinking.