If you’re sick and tired of wearing your glasses, I know where you’re coming from.
If you think it’s possible to see clearly again without them, you’d be right.
Table of Contents
What happens when you stop wearing your glasses?
For some of us it’s scary to get off our meds and see what happens. They’re the only thing keeping us from falling apart, right?
The same goes for glasses. You’ve been taught that you need them. You take them off, look around, and sure enough, it looks like you need them. You wake in the morning and can’t see a thing until you put them on.
You think about how to get out of them, but you don’t find a lot of encouragement.
Your parents tell you that your eyes will get worse if you don’t wear them all the time.
But is that what your eye doctor said? Maybe. Maybe not. If you have myopia (nearsightedness), some doctors believe that glasses will stop your eyes from getting worse as fast as they would have otherwise. There’s no doubt, however, that in almost all cases, people’s vision gets worse and worse if they keep wearing glasses.
But there’s a little more to it than that. Your vision can also get worse without glasses. Perhaps not as fast, but glasses aren’t the only factor.
The biggest factor is how you use your eyes. There are aspects to this that you’ve never thought about. Your habits either promote good vision or bad vision. There are real changes you can make that will have an impact and lead you towards good vision again, without glasses.
Glasses do some nasty things to prevent your good habits from taking over to improve your vision back to normal. See my article The Problem With Glasses.
So what happens when you don’t wear your glasses? It depends. Maybe some eyestrain and tired eyes. Certainly a lot of blur. Anxiety.
What also happens is your eyes are given the freedom to learn to see without glasses. It doesn’t mean they automatically will. They’ll need some help.
Cold Turkey
So how about the good old “cold turkey” approach. Usually that term is used to describe an abrupt and complete end to a drug habit, but glasses are a lot like a drug.
I could tell you to stop wearing your glasses now and be done with it. If you work in a profession where it’s all about near work, and you can manage this, and you can find your way around and do everything you need to without glasses, sure, maybe that will work for you.
Is this necessary? Do you have to just quit immediately?
Nope. Whether you sometimes wear your glasses in moments of weakness or an important immediate need to see something, that’s not what is going to determine what happens to your vision. So don’t worry about it. Don’t make any big commitments in going cold turkey that you’ll stress yourself out trying to keep.
Weaker glasses may be a temporary solution
The whole point is to learn to see clearly without glasses and not ever be dependent on them. Until then, you’ve got life to deal with, so weaker glasses might be a good interim solution. You probably you want to be able to drive, and it would be nice to be able to still recognize your friends, read signs, and generally be able to do things without feeling disabled.
Your eye doctor is already familiar with issuing a reduced prescription for patients who want a pair for reading or computer work. The reason for that is myopic glasses are calculated to give you clear distance vision. For any distance closer than 20ft (which is close to optical infinity as far as focus adjustment is concerned), they’re stronger than necessary. People complain about eyestrain with their glasses, and eye doctors have figured out it’s partly because the eyes have to over-focus for near work through the distance glasses, and reducing the strength of the glasses helps.
So you can request a reduced prescription from your eye doctor, telling him you intend to use them for reading and computer work… which is also true, right? No need to tell him you will be using them for everything if you think he’ll react badly to the idea.
Or you can try your luck at simply ordering new glasses online, a little weaker than your old prescription, and type in your doctor’s info. They might contact him for verification. They might not. Worst case, they’ll refuse your order and your eye doctor will give you a tongue-lashing for going behind his back. But it probably won’t be so bad as that. Your eye doctor is there to provide a service that you want and should have the sense to value your business and treat you well.
Do the exercises without glasses
All of the exercises I give should be done without glasses. They’re all doable without glasses, even if your myopia is pretty high. In many cases you can move closer to the eye chart on the wall to be able to see enough to make the exercise doable. There’s always a way.
The thing is with your glasses on you wouldn’t be able to notice the changes in your vision as you do the exercise. They give bad feedback. If your eyes improve their focus as you’re doing an exercise, your glasses will make your vision look worse instead. So it’s going to be really confusing and I don’t recommend it. And these moments of clearer vision are so important for your morale and confidence. You have to have the opportunity to experience these moments without your glasses and see how easy and possible it is for you to see without them. Your clear vision is just right there waiting to be activated, it’s right there within you, totally accessible, it’s really nothing special, and I want you to have the opportunity to experience this.
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FREE EYE CHARTS DOWNLOAD
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I founded iblindness.org in 2002 as I began reading books on the Bates Method and became interested in vision improvement. I believe that everyone who is motivated can identify the roots of their vision problems and apply behavioral changes to solve them.
I have vision problems in my teenage years,I used to love my glasses very much but since my eye power turned from 0.75 to 1.00,and my mopia got high. I am starting to hate my glasses,my question is that will my eyesight improve if I start eye exercises an wear weaker glasses prescription,though I started eye exercises videos made on apps,It did work for a while but after a few time it stopped increasing so I left it now,does it really work,I would be glad to know…
I am interested as over 5 years cannot grasp wearing glasses even half the day for certain tasks and my face cold the minute I put them on all the time..
Most people like me, probably got blind due to the fact that they spent too much time around screens, mostly phones and video-games, regardless of what platform they use. My parents found out I was blind sometime in 2018, right before I was to be inducted into my regional high school. I had known about it for so long, yet I chose not to tell my parents due to the fact that they had warned me earlier to moderate how I spent my time, not to mention the social pressures put on anyone who wears them. I wasn’t overweight or ‘too nerdy’ to fit into these categories, but it sure as hell bothered me just thinking about walking into school with glasses on my face, kind of like a curse. As soon as I got my per-scripted glasses, I enjoyed seeing everything clear again. It get’s awfully gloomy looking at everything around you with that blur looming all around, so it wasn’t so bad. I can’t say that I had any eye strains though. I mean, I don’t remember much of it when I think about it, especially considering the fact that those glasses hardly came in contact with my fingers after a month or so. I wear them from time to time, but for a very short period of time. I’m a junior now, and I haven’t worn my glasses for a long time. Many people say that if you don’t wear glasses, your vision worsens. In a sense, it is true. Not wearing your glasses and still playing video games or strapped to your screen for hours a day isn’t going to make your vision any better, hell, it was the whole reason I had to get glasses in the first place. But I didn’t want to wear glasses at all, and contacts seem like a good idea, but it’s kind of lying to yourself, as if you’re not 100% yourself anymore, like you became dependent on a little plastic-glass piece that somehow made yourself ‘whole’ again. Glasses and contacts are not for me at all, especially with the responsibility that comes with it.
Recently, I’ve been wondering on what my life is going to be, or what career choice I’d be going into. Not to say that I’ve made my choice yet, but what if I were to say, join the military? I’m aware that they have regulations on eye sight, in which the use of contacts would be preferred by me. However, they specify that if you have some vision deformity (nearsightedness, farsightedness, etc), your only option would be using glasses. It sounds hella stupid, I know, especially for someone who’s thinking about being part of a serious commitment. After doing some research online, and seeing some people’s reactions here, I’m assuming that wearing glasses over long periods of time would actually make your vision worse than make it better. I thought glasses were like a pause button on your decreasing vision, but I’d like an actual fix on my eyes, and there’s no way I’m doing laser surgery, due to all the medical side effects that could come with it, to the point in which your vision could actually worsen to the point of being completely blind.
I stumbled upon the Bates Method, in which Google and Wikipedia have described it as “an ineffective and potentially dangerous alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight”. I spent a lot of today reading a ton about the Bates Method, tried it on myself, and I can’t say I did feel something, but I also can’t say that I didn’t. So, why am I writing all of this? I was hoping you, Mr. David, could give me the answer(s) to my undying question(s), that I’m sure everyone here has had.
Please, I need help, I’m trapped between this method and science, (since many have claimed these methods as a hoax). I’d appreciate if you wrote back.
And disclaimer to all those who are looking at this post now or sometime in the future, no I am not a bot or an alt account of David’s, and no this is not him writing this to make his website/forum stand out. I am a legitimate person, just like all these other people who so happen to have the same interests.
Thanks again,
Mr. Relatable ;(*
*Hopefully my ;( will turn into a 🙂 some day.
I’ve had glasses since I was eight, and I’m thirteen now. I used to love wearing them, so much that I never took them off. Now my eyesight has gotten worse, I can barely see anything without my glasses. I hate wearing them. Whenever I look in the mirror, all I see is an ugly person with too-small glasses that make my face look huge…
Same, I never liked how I looked in glasses. At one point I thought I looked good in them, after a family member commented that I’d look like Clark Kent if I used them LOL. Needless to say, the comment’s motivation on me didn’t last long.
In 5th grade I started getting vision issues and I always wanted glasses until I got them and I absolutely hate them. My doctor told me to wear them when I couldn’t see things. I wish I listened. I just wore them for fun and eventually I needed them all the time because I couldn’t see. I was really upset, and at the time I had also got braces. I was depressed because I called myself and 4-eyed train track freak and I thought I was uglier and I would ask and ask and nobody said I was ugly it just brought down my self esteem a lot. I hid my feelings until my mom got pregnant in late 5th grade. I wish I listened to my doctor instead of to myself, even my mom kept telling me not to wear them all the time, but I never listened. So I am saying now read this and only wear them when you have to and never just for fun because l was depressed from it and don’t want any of you guys to be. I am now in 8th grade and I need help fixing what I ruined any advice? Thanks 😘
In the midst of reading this I began to actually see all the words in clear vision, wow!
I am recently having myopia and I can’t see words written on the board properly but I can do my daily activities well without need of wearing any glasses. Doctor says that I need to wear glasses to improve my vision. But my friends says that wearing glasses had decreased their vision furthermore and with time they had to increase their lens power. I am confused whether to wear glasses all the time or just at time of need. Will it harm my eyes if I don’t wear my glasses all the time? Please suggest me.
wear it or your power will increase more drastically.i have expreienced it listen to your doctor
Thanks for your suggestions 😊💗💞
I also had that. My friends never wore them until they got glasses and needed them more often. I had it too. I wish I never wore them all the time because my vision is worse. I would say wear them only when you have to and don’t when you are fine because babe I wish I did that it will help you I promise. (it won’t harm your eyes if you only need them when you can’t see)
hello. Can Bates Method Improve Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)?
My vision started getting weak when I was in the fourth grade. Every school year, I tried to get a seat closer to the blackboard so I could see what the teacher was writing. Started wearing glasses in high school and my vision was 20/80. Every year it got a little worse. Then in my early 20s I moved to Hawaii, and every day my friends and I would sit on the beach and watch the sunset. I had switched to contact lenses, but they were bothering me a lot so I didn’t wear them much, especially since I wasn’t driving in Hawaii. After about six months, I put in my contacts and couldn’t see well at all, so I went to the optometrist to get a new prescription. My vision had improved a lot. The optometrist said that was impossible and that I must have had a bad prescription previously. He argued when I said no, I had been able to see with those contacts. Anyway, I decided I would just stop wearing glasses. It was only many years later I learned that my habit of looking long distances in Hawaii had improved my vision. Scientific American published a study about that some years ago. It confirmed my experience. I’m 70 now and my vision isn’t 20/20, but it’s pretty darn good. I always pass the vision portion of the driving test when renewing my license.
That’s great Ginny, thanks for sharing! This type of thing does happen. That optometrist probably still wrote this one off as a mistake on your previous prescription, and in his mind there’s still no such thing as what happened with you.
Last year I was 0.25 and the doctor told me to “engage in the wilderness” to improve my vision and I did, I stopped looking at screens 24/7 and I just went to the eye doctor today for my checkup and both of my eyes are 150, it wasn’t a surprise since I already suspected that I was shortsighted, but I was and still am pretty sad because I guess my face just doesn’t fit glasses and contacts is just way too fussy, I’m pretty skeptical about this cos I have tried other methods in the past and for some reason instead of getting better, I feel like my eyesight is getting worse. For the creator, have you tried this? And does it really work? Thx.
My 8 year old is wearing glasses for past 2 years. Her prescription is increasing every year. Its -3.00 now. Shes wearing glasses all time. I am worried about her eyesight.
I don’t want to wear contacts, but I think I look nicer without my glasses on.
I’m sure you’re right, and even better without contacts on!
I was prescribed with glasses almost a year ago and my eye sight has become worse without wearing my glasses. Before it was -0.25 for both eyes but when I went to my appointment today, I saw that now my right eye was -0.5 and my left had become -0.75.
I want to improve my eyesight because I really don’t like wearing glasses and they don’t suit me. I also don’t want to use contact lenses.
When I wear my new prescription I often get head aches and my eyes tend to hurt quite a lot. I am really young and I really want to improve my eyesight without any type of surgery. I have stopped wearing my glasses for the time being and I would really like some advice on how to improve my eyes.
I would like any response or anything that could help me. Thank you!
It’s perfectly normal to have a headache for the first day or so after getting new glasses. I’ve been wearing glasses for nearly 15 years and every time I get a new pair of glasses (even if the prescription only changed by .25) I’ll have a really bad headache all day. This is because your eyes and brain are adjusting to the new input. Keep wearing your glasses consistently for a week. If you still have headaches after that, go see your eye doctor again and let them know. Your prescription may need to be adjusted.
This isn’t a site for how to try to get used to living with glasses. It’s about how to get rid of them by not needing them anymore.
Fair enough, I just wanted to point out why Bella might be having issues with headaches. It might be possible that they need a weaker prescription which would accelerate their journey towards a glasses-free lifestyle. But your eyes need to adjust to one thing before you try something else. I’ll take my leave now.
Mine are 5.3😭
Last week it had been two years since my last eye examination, so I went in for one wearing my reduced prescription.
My first surprise was that, what I thought to be my uncorrected distance vision of a bit less than 20/100, turned out to actually be 20/300, and my vision with my under correction on, is less than 20/200.
It turns out that the online Snellen chart that I purchased, and have been using is erroneous , in that the letters on each line are much larger than they should be.
My next surprise was that the doctor found that I now have astigmatism in each eye.
He however suggested that since in the past I had trouble adjusting to a cylinder prescription, that he could simply give me a bit more myopic correction for each eye.
The net result is that I am now wearing, -3.50 for each eye with a +3.00 bifocal add.
I got the glasses the same day, and could not believe how poorly I had been seeing, especially for distance. It has been a week now, and vision without glasses is as bad as it was with the under correction that I had been wearing, and If I attempt to read without glasses, my eyes are really straining.
So assuming that the -1.75 glasses that were prescribed two years ago, that I never wore were correct, that means that I have gotten more myopic by -.75 per year, and the doctor put in an extra -.25 instead of the cylinder correction.
He said that my corrected vision is now 20/15, but that is a good thing, because it will settle in at 20/20 in a few more months. He also said that since this is only my third adult onset myopia prescription, and that I had not had an exam for two years, that my prescription will get a little stronger for the next few years , but most likely not much more than -5.50 , or there about.
I am wondering at what strength prescription do the lenses become very thick, and perfectly flat on the front surfaces, or worse yet have that bubble appearance in the center of the lens?
Hii
My 3.5 yrs old son was prescribed glasses today
L-0.75 R -0.25
+1.75 cyl for both the eyes
Should he use the glasses or just be without them.
Not full streng glasses. Its better if the left and right eye are -0.25 D weaker. You can order this online Zenni optical
I read most of the threads, and did not see anything like my situation. I was first prescribed glasses at age 37 because of distance blur after close work.
I had several different plus prescriptions, from several different doctors, some of which included correction for astigmatism. None of them solved the problem. Finally a doctor prescribed a -.25 with an astigmatism correction. and told me to wear them whenever my eyes bothered me. They solved the problem, and I often wore them for distance, as well as always for reading. The next year he ask how I was seeing, and I mentioned that the right lens seemed too strong. I then was given a small plus for both eyes, and more cylinder for both, and a +1.25 bifocal. Theses glasses were horrible to get used to, but I wore them constantly, and they were then comfortable. For thirty years they increased slightly . At this point I changed jobs, and for the first time in my life needed to use a computer all day long.
I found that not using glasses was more comfortable. and again found distance blur, but the glasses did little to help.
I had relocated , so went to a new doctor, and he said that I now have adult onset myopia, and prescribed -1.25 for each eye, with a .75 bifocal. These were amazingly clear for both distance, and near. The next year they went to -1.75, and again distance was incredible
Two years ago I ordered a reduced prescription of -100 and a .50 add. This year I am comfortably wearing -.75 and a .50 add. I still feel very uncomfortable without the glasses for either distance or near, and my Snellen vision without them is a bit less than 20/100, and usually 20/20 with them.
I always wonder if I was always myopic, and was wearing an improper plus prescription for those thirty years.
Thanks Nadia.
If this method were true, glasses would not exist. People in the old west would be without them and therefore cure themselves.
The earth is flat, we never went to the moon, the Russians hacked the election…
And now corrective lenses are evil. everything is a conspiracy.
Is there any evidence? Not feel good “snake oil” makes me feel tingly. I mean someone with 2.5 or over that can now read the newspaper?
I think people don’t understand how the eyes change shape and lose elasticity with age. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.
Glasses are a necessary evil. Don’t like them? Get contacts.
…and if diet and exercise worked, everyone would be slim and fit, right? 🙂
My vision is already good or I would have looked further into this, but I assume there is “a bit” more to it than just not wearing glasses or wearing a weaker prescription. I view glasses as something like a futuristic exoskeleton brace to help someone lift 50 lb boxes. Why does a person need an exoskeleton for that? Well, it is possible they were severely injured and are paralyzed, and for them, this exoskeleton might be the only solution, but it is also possible that they are just weak because they never exercise. Would you be cool with it if people started using robotic enhancements to make up for the fact that they refuse to exercise? That would be pretty stupid, don’t you think? So what evidence do we have that myopia is caused from lack of eye exercise? Well, we know that as children, for every 1 hour spent outside every day, there is a 18% reduction in myopia. Do you hear that Clint? Being outside and looking at stuff that is far away for an hour a day reduces the probability of being myopic by 18%! 2 hours a day = about 36%! 3 hours a day = about 54%. Gee, this sounds like exercising your eye muscles prevents myopia. But that can’t be right, can it Clint? How can that be??? How can it be that exercising your eye muscles makes them stronger and less likely to undergo pathogenesis caused by changing eyeball shape caused by lack of muscle? How is that possible, Clint? Exercising muscles to make them stronger? That’s snake oil! Now, aside from my sarcasm, yes, there is nothing “snake oil” about the idea that working your eyes in a certain way would improve your vision. I’m a scientist. I worked in the pharma industry for 16 years as a medicinal chemist. I’m completely against snake oil, believe me, but I also realize that sometimes there is just common sense. Exercising improves performance. This isn’t snake oil.
If meditation worked, nobody would be stressed out.
If reading worked, nobody would be uninformed.
Right?
We can go on and on.
Weak minded people look for an “out” as an excuse for why success isn’t possible and use other weak people as a guide for what is possible, which is a very low ceiling. Strong minded people don’t ask, “Is it possible?”. They ask, “What am I going to do next to try to make this happen?”
I think everybody else covered the main points, so I’ll just throw this side-note out there. One of the original “snake oils” was echinacea. As it happens, echinacea is actually really helpful with snakebites. Specifically the pit vipers – rattlesnake, copperhead, and water moccasin. It deactivates the venom and strengthens the cells against its effects.
The reason that snake oil got a bad name was not because it was ineffective, but rather because1) unscrupulous people were selling false (or inferior) products and claiming it to be actual snake oil and 2) because unscrupulous people were making claims outside of its actual effects. And probably 3) because big business, big Pharma, or big government wanted it shut down for money reasons.
Another snake oil comes from a water snake. I don’t have any personal experience with it, but by most accounts it also had legitimate medicinal value.
So anyway, like I said, that’s not really what we were talking about. Just wanted to share…for fun.
lmao. So well written, and on point! I actually laughed
Where are the exercises? I see no download.
Menu -> eBooks -> Perfect sight without glasses.
Or: https://www.iblindness.org/ebooks/perfect-sight-without-glasses/
I wear varifocals would I still be able to try this method?
Hello, David I’m 26 years old and I have Miopia and the measurements with contact lenses is -5.25 in both eyes, do yo think that by trying not using glasses or less measurement and doing the eyes exercise my vision measurement would get better a lower number or even get 20/20?
Hi Veronica, absolutely, I believe it’s possible for anyone who puts in the work!
I’m almost 45 years old and recently got my vision tested and it was tested at 20/12. I’m mildly farsighted, but I can still read fine without reading glasses. I’ve always done eye exercises, my entire life. I practice focusing up close, then far away – back and forth. Just like doing arm curls. You don’t hold one position, you need full motion. I just have to push a little to focus. I recently tried some reading glasses just out of curiosity, and really didn’t like the result. Yes, I could read a little easier, but even having them on for a few minutes, my ability to see up close was lost for several minutes after. I’m thoroughly convinced that if I started wearing reading glasses all the time, that my near vision would go to crap. So isn’t this happening to people who wear glasses all the time? Aren’t their eyes adjusting to the lens and no longer trying to focus correctly? Seems like it to me. I’d like to see an experiment where nearsighted people wear reading glasses for short periods of time while reading, then do a far eye test to see if the results improve. It definitely makes me more farsighted (at least temporarily) when I wear them.
Wow, Bob!
You are making too much sense. That’s usually not allowed LOL
Did you know that the most common thing about common sense is that it isn’t very common! 😄
Hi Bob,
That’s great! There’s a “use it or lose it” aspect to it, like everything else I guess. Even just the act of practicing focusing near and far like you do, if done in a very easy, gentle way, can help keep your vision good.
It’s a bad road to head down, getting that first pair of glasses. It does no favors to the eyes.
Yes, nearsighted people wearing reading glasses can be somewhat effective short term, but long term it will only confuse the visual system and not address what’s causing the focus problems in the first place. More info here: https://www.iblindness.org/1730/plus-lens-therapy-for-myopia-good-or-bad/
Hi David , Do your exercises also help to improve night vision ? As my myopia is very high & I also have vision problem at night. I’m good without glasses in day time but night really keeps me inside home. Plz Do Reply
Hi Terry, It should help with both. Vision is meant to be used effectively as night too (obviously not as good as nocturnal animals).
Hi I am Sarah and I am 14 years old I am currently wearing glasses and my eyesight is getting worse my eye doctor keeps on saying that my eyesight will get worse if I don’t wear my glasses all the time. My mum tells me to try not to wear my glasses all the time.In year 5 I didn’t wear my glasses at all and my eye doctor said that my eyes were really damaged. Right now I am trying to reduce the amount of time I wear my glasses and only wear it when reading or at school.When I don’t wear my glasses I can barely see and I feel really insecure.What do you think I should do. Please reply as soon as possible.
Hi Sarah,
Are you sure the eye doctor said your eyes were damaged? That’s different than merely vision getting worse.
hello David, I exercised and yeah my vision is getting better but what I am really concerned right now is not about my vision it is about how I look with out them. I think I look weird without glasses. my eye shape is changed a little, my skin around my eye is thiner and darker. if you’ve some advices about how to improve this… please let me know.
Hello dude who’s name I’ve forgotten I’m terrible with names. Don’t try to help me there. Anywho, my question is the effects of distancing my phone from my face or just using a TV instead and just reading for farsightedness would this aid me in some way and occasionally increasing the distance “or decreasing font size for tv, or zooming out depending on what I’m reading” Would this be able to aid me in decreasing and ridding myself of farsightedness? Or would this do almost nothing cause either way I’m totally already doing this spent countless hours laying on the edge of my bed at night with my phone on the floor, much easier and farther away then just holding it in my hands with glasses off reading. While I don’t believe I’ve hand any form of change then again… I’m not the most observant person when it comes to me. I don’t exactly focus on how I look or do things I work out but for strength not muscle. I don’t comb my hair because I don’t honestly know what would look good cause I’m attracted to women not men so who am I to say? But yeah 0 self perception I could end up with 20/20 vision and not even realize for 5 years… Which is honestly a weird thing to be able to say about myself. Like after certain milestones I honestly don’t know what age I am anymore. Like it ment something to me from the age of 1-18 then I’m just sitting there everyday thinking to myself… I’m not 21 yet… Hmm what age am I. Gotta get out my phone and check the date. I’m just a real mess when it comes to caring honestly I mean I notice things about people I love instantly but me or anyone else. Someone who speaks with me every day could suddenly disappear and I probably would only notice I don’t have to speak and I feel like I usually have to speak about now. So none of those “issues?” about me are the point I more want you to tell can distanced based reading without corrective lenses on a screen “not using books cause fuck that I gotta go to a book place buy a much more expensive thing and hold it to read a story I figured out the end to on page 2 and just constantly wonder why I am still reading and how this was worth my time or money… Just why at that point I’d rather just write the book myself just so I know I would like the story… Despite the fact I don’t always like my short stories… Maybe it’s cause I 100% don’t read as I write it’s more oops my mind started to wonder again I wonder what’s going on with the story. Oh it’s done ok then what now… I know a book would likely place more strain on my eyes because no paper has the same white contrast the black text is less bold and causes your eyes to have to do a bit more work but would this cause me to have to do additional work? Like taking a bar out of your dumbells and just lifting the weights themselves. “Less weight benches makes more sense as a example because the bars are a bit heavier like 3-5 pounds I think… Or was it higher I always ignored that lol I am clearly not the kind of guy to sweat… Or even remotely notice the small stuff… Like for instance a guy comes into my place of work and shoots up the place no one dies I don’t get hit and nothing I like or needed is damaged I don’t remember it even happened after 5 minutes as long as no one mentions it. If I am getting lectured and new info about it like none stop sure I might remember might be wondering what everyone’s talking about and whats going on… Forgetting every word said to me as it’s said. Cause I don’t honestly care as long as it doesn’t effect more someone I care about you could be hardcore just having a gay orgy like right in front of me and I probably wouldn’t notice as long as you’re quiet. At which point I might be a little disgusted… Cause orgies are gross and I don’t wanna see a bunch or naked dudes. Sex in general is gross unless your participating then it’s fun and exciting. Like you ever get a good whiff of sex smells or just see two not attractive”to you” people going at it hardcore. You can’t help but be at least a little disgusted cause it’s gross all the terrible smells and flabby skin just slapping together any imperfection on there bodies is immediately noticed by you only to make the situation just that much grosser… What the actual fuck am I talking about man I am great at trailing off and honestly not giving two shits about what I’m talking about. Maybe I should take my name off this… Hmm…
My prescription is -3.25 left an right would this work for me thanks
Hi, David! Could you please link us to your credentials? It would be nice for people to know from whom they are taking advice, and to allow them to make an educated decision on their own regarding whether they think you are qualified to provide them with medical advice. (Also, it would be a wise idea for you legally, as you are putting yourself in the position of a figure giving others medical advice. Lawsuits can get ugly.) Thanks!
See the Disclaimer and Terms shown at the bottom of the page. If you’re looking for medical advice, you’re on the wrong site.
I have myopia with L -.05 and R -0.75. Can I improve my vision without wearing glasses.
P.S. I have just started wearing glasses..
Try not to wear glasses if you only have -0.75 correction — or only when you really need to see the white board if you go to school. If you keep wearing your glasses all the time, soon it becomes -1.5 and then -2.5. Simply stare less at your phone. Use a larger screen for your computer at home and sit back. Take many brakes and look out the window. Go outside and look at far distance. This will eventually bring your vision back to 20/20. Also never use glasses when reading things up close. Or else suffer what we spectacle wearers have gone through, rapid progression of myopia. So less reading up close, more looking at things afar.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions 😊
All great tips, The Man! The excessive use of screens has certainly contributed to the myopia epidemic.
I have been wearing glasses since 1992. It was low prescription in the beginning, but as soon as I started wearing glasses, it went worse. Luckily, I have never changed my prescription beyond R -2.25 and L -2.5. Sometimes my eyes were getting a little worse, but they always went back to sharp vision after a while, so I kept resisting stronger glasses. Lately, my sight was getting slightly blurry, and I feared my eyes were getting worse, but with home testing I found out my eyes were actually getting slightly better. I thought maybe due to better habits — always trying to not wear glasses when working at computer and when reading. Then I saw a YouTube video on how Myopia could actually be reversed. Yeah, right! I was sceptical. I did some research. So I purchased glasses online that were 0.25 diopter reduced. I could see fine. I was probably overprescribed. By how much I couldn’t tell. I waited a little, measured my eyesight, and my eyes were getting better by the day. I could reduce by another 0.25 diopter. I could see fine with those too. So I did more research. I started doing active focus, eye chart reading exercise at 3 meters in the morning (from the bed), sometimes walk outside without glasses, and the centimeters were continuing to get better. I could already go another 0.25 diopter lower according to my cm measurement, and I did. So I spent a small amount of money to find out that with reducing my prescription, using my glasses less, and doing active focus, my eyes were actually better than I thought. I was 0.75 diopter overprescribed. This happened in a span of 10 days (starting 21 July). To me this is a huge shock. So now with R -1.5 and L -1.75 I can see perfect. For how many years was I overprescribed? I want to believe my eyes can get better still. It may take many months. With R -1.25 and L -1.5 glasses, I can almost see perfect (only slightly blurry trees in distance) so almost 1 diopter less since 21 July! I have read I shouldn’t go too fast with reducing my prescription, as my visual cortex is slower to catch up, which may lead to some side effects — and it will also cause a plateau, which means progress will stop. So I have to be careful. I’m sad that I didn’t know about the possibility of improving my eyesight sooner.
I’ve not been wearing my specs for over 24 hours and already my eyes feel better. It so good to be free of glasses, I’ve worn them for nearly 60 years. I hate wearing glasses.
This is the best advice ever. I’ll use your tip of wearing lower power for closeup reading. I was tired of my pinhol glasses breaking since I wear them over my glasses. I’ve stopped wearing my glasses constantly -8.75 for 2 weeks now.
Instead I’ve been walking arouand shops and at home using my d modified pinhole glasses (made the hole very tiny, size of pinprick, everything looks 20/20) with pinhole glasses.
Now, when I’m in the garden I have 5 seconds of clarity, 20/20 when peering intently at the grass or patch if garden or sunflower centre. It’s so exciting.
The other tip I picked up was supercharge your lutein and xeanthin levels with kale, spinach and broccoli smoothies. I’m so over the moon, this DIY is actually working. (I got the smoothies idea from the Outback Vision Protocol, but I wouldn’t buy it, just study it)
Is there a way to improve your eyesight without getting glasses?
Hey David 🙂 I suffer from Myopia and I want to get rid of my specs. My power is -.75 for both eyes. Please help me cute my condition 🙂
Dear Yikes,
The experiment you are mentioning was specifically conducted on children with myopia. Unfortunately, it was done with great ignorance towards proper scientific experimentation methodologies, physiological optics, and Dr Bates’s findings in general.
Proper method would have called for the testing and evaluation of the null hypothesis. In this case, a control group should have been established, which wore no glasses at all for the duration of the experiment.
Instead, there had been only 2 groups: one with proper prescription for the distance; and one with improper prescription. Wearing concave glasses for close work elongates the children’s eyeballs more, due to optical reasons. (Please see any University textbook on physiological optics for further clarification.) When the prescription is proper for the maximum range of vision to achieve the required resolution for distance viewing, the child’s eyeball is able to “rebound” to the original correction more or less due to the positive feedback the brain receives. In the case of even slight reduction in the prescriptions, the positive feedback mechanism is lost and hence the eyeball will remain in a somewhat more elongated form, measuring higher degree of myopia during the next checkup. Had the experimenters have any clue about the workings of optics, it is unlikely that they would have performed such an ignorant experiment with single-focal concave lenses on children. But I agree, it is very unethical to do this to children, just as much as ignoring the work of Dr Bates for the last 100 years and compelling children to wear image-distorting devices over their eyes for the rest of their lives, feeding the great Trillion-dollar Optical Industry.
Nadia, thanks for taking the time to help!
On one hand I can understand people being indoctrinated into the belief system that we are so helpless and prone to breaking down that a larger and larger chunk of kids wear glasses. Parents do what they’re told, and eye doctors are quite convincing that glasses are the answer. What I have a problem with is people who go out of their way to discourage interested people from trying alternative approaches and to aggressively defend a system of wearing glasses forever that is not working well and has horrible side effects. Generally I just don’t even tolerate those people on this site, because the medical industry is already in control of society and I don’t care for them to have any presence here as well. But occasionally it’s useful to keep those types of comments in order to make a point to refute them.
I feel bad for all these people whose vision will get fucked by wearing prescriptions that are too weak for them, last time people tried that experiment they had to stop for ethical reasons because it teribbly screwed up their vision permanently, I just people will look around more and get other opinions before going off and doing something drastic that they will later regret
i dont like wearing glasses they suck bad u have to see the eye doctor a lot by new glasses if they break it just to much i got glasses a year ago i hate them
David what if you have a lasy eye let’s say and want to make both of your eyes stronger would it be good not to wear glasses because my kid has one and she is 12 and I’m worried about it
Is this serious? You think you can will your eye lenses back into shape, physically fix the imperfections in your eyeball by not wanting to wear glasses? Because that’s what you’re talking about when you’re suggesting ‘learning to see without glasses’ to someone who needs glasses so see clearly.
I googled the topic because it happened to me this week. I did not wear my eye-glasses for two days and surprise surprise, I am good without glasses. I don’t think I am going back that route…. thanks
Good! That’s a common experience that people find after a couple days without glasses, that they have been wearing every waking moment for years, that their vision improves a little right away.
Where are the exercises
See the download on this page.
Hi I am avinash 19yrs old
I have a eye sight of -3 right 0 right … I can perform all the daily activities without my glasses … Is there any possibility of getting my right eye to normal condition without wearing glasses?
Your eye is probably fine. Myopia is mental and functional in nature.
Hello, i currently wear my old glasses from middle school, not sure what it is as far as prescription, but when i take my glasses off, my eyes seem worse. Should I stop? I know you’re no doctor, but i just want a second opinion.
Taking your glasses off may or may not lead to better vision right away. It’s common, but most likely that will not be the only thing you need to do. This site is about the procedures you use to improve your vision.
Hi,
I’m a 14 year old girl and my vision is really bad. I have myopia with R:-6.50 and L:-6.75. I have an old pair of prescription glasses. The power for those is R: -5.50 and L: -5.75. If I wear my old glasses, will my vision get worse? I really want to, at least, get to the power of R: -5.50 and L: -5.75 and wear my old glasses. If I use this method how long do you think it would take to get better for my eyes, and is this really safe for developing eyes? Please respond as soon as possible.
Thank you!
Studies have found that it is more harmful for children to not have the correct prescription lenses! Please read on this before you do that… http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140513-do-glasses-weaken-your-eyesight
Those studies only had people stop wearing glasses. Not stop wearing glasses AND improve their vision. Going without glasses by itself won’t always have much, if any, positive impact by itself, but it’s one part of the process. If that were the whole solution, there would be no need for one more than one page on this website.
Alisha, people vary widely in how long it takes them. It depends entirely on how quickly you learn to see in the right way.
Siri — Well, this study in China https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27796670 showed that no correction lessened myopic progression compared to children who were fully corrected. This China study actually aligns with previous animal studies. The Malaysia study tested children with variable ranges of myopia, and then gave a group glasses with 0.75 diopter less than fully corrected. The China study also had a group children with variable ranges of myopia, but gave a group no correction at all (no glasses), so the range of under-correction was actually greater — although it has to be said that the group with no correction were less myopic than the group with full correction. In the China study, under-correction had less progress of myopia — the greater the under-correction the less the progress of myopia. In the Malaysia study under-correction had more progress of myopia — although we’re talking about a difference of only 0.2-0.3 diopters here! Also the studies are about the rate of myopic progression in children who go to school. It is not about adults trying to become less myopic by under-correction. To me both studies are flawed in their data, approach, and conclusion, so inconclusive in my eyes. Also the studies don’t really say anything about the great question if giving children glasses when they have onset of myopia (<1 diopter) causes more rapid progress of myopia compared to children who remain uncorrected, or vice versa. There really isn't much to find in scientific studies. Anyway, can adults reverse myopia? Possibly. There is no scientific data that says otherwise. There is only the optometry community stating it can't be done.
This made sense to me so I tried it. I have some really glasses from a few years ago, they are much weaker than my current glasses and in only one day my eyes have readjusted to them! It’s a little bit of a strain seeing close up but I can get by. My eyes do not feel as tired at the end of the day. I spend a lot of time on the computer or looking at some type of screen so I suggest anyone interested try wearing some old glasses first if your eyes are really bad. I couldn’t see anything when I woke up, could barely find my glasses. This is over!
Good to hear you’re noticing changes!
Update, please! Very interested in how things are going for you!
Hey David my left eye has a power of -4 something and right eye is 2.5 something and I’m really irritated cuz of my glasses and without it’s like totally blurr tell me how to improve it fast pls
Hi Maham,
Please start here: https://www.iblindness.org/3822/introduction-for-beginners/
Hello dravid
I m tashi from ladakh….my lens power is-2 both eye con I cure mayopia by doing eye exercise…….please reply
Hey,
I am tired of the eyestrain I get from my glasses and thinking about ordering a pair of glasses with a weaker prescription online. I know a website where you can get a pair for only about €55,-. Right now I have a pair of glasses with R -4,50 / L -4,25, with R -0,25 180° / L -0,50 12° astigmatism. What weaker prescription do you suggest? How about R -2,50 / L -2,25 (2 diopters weaker for each eye)? And should I leave the astigmatism unchanged?
Really hope you can help and suggest some advice. Thanks.
Greetings, Justin
Justin,
The less correction the better, and especially the more you are able to do without your glasses the better, provided you are also working on using your eyes better. There is no magic formula for reducing your prescription by a certain amount.
If you want to improve your eyesight without glasses. Start taking saffron supplements
Care to explain further?
hi david my eyes sph,-5.5 on the right and-2.5 on the left is my eye short sight, i have tired and i need to stop wearing eye glass.can i stop wearing glass and improve my vison?
Hi David,
I find it frustrating too that I have to depend on my glasses. So I’ve ditched my glasses by only wearing them during lectures, and tutorial classes perhaps. I hope I can really improve my eye sight! Thank you very much.
I’m glad to hear you’re trying it out!
Same I do wear glasses when reading not for Driving of seeing objects.
Hi Luke,
Yes, weaker prescriptions can be a big help for when you need to wear them. It’s kind of like weaning yourself off a drug.