5 quick exercises to relax your eyes

Sometimes I look at a screen for so long that afterwards I feel like I see less well. That could very well be the case, because we often forget to relax the eye muscles. Even at night they are still working.

Did you know that our eyes make 100,000 muscle movements a day and that they can reach speeds of 800 kilometers per hour? I never knew I had such a speed demon in me. So it can't hurt to give those muscles a little rest every now and then, thought the largest glasses manufacturer in our country. How do you do that? Well, by doing some nice exercises for your eyes, of course. What you do with your body in the gym, you can do an exercise at home just for your eyes. And you don't even have to shower afterwards, even if you've done exercises. I think it's a huge win-win.

Exercise 1: Focusing
Look at your (open) hand up close and focus on it for 3 seconds. Close your eyes and turn your head towards an object further away (about 5 - 10 meters from you). Open your eyes and focus directly on this object for 3 seconds. Close your eyes and look at your hand again for 3 seconds. Do this 3 to 5 times in a row.

Exercise 2: Quick switch (fast version)
Squint your eyes, turn your head and quickly focus on what you see (close or far away). Squint again and turn your head in the other direction (to the right, left, up, etc.) and focus. Do this 10 times in a row.

Exercise 3: Looking around
Let the muscles do their work for a moment. We look up, blink, look to the right, blink, look down, blink, and look to the left, blink. You can repeat this a few times.

Exercise 4: Eye for eye
Cover one eye with your hand and focus on an object. Switch hands and eyes immediately and focus on the same object. Then focus on another object and switch hands and eyes. This way your eyes focus separately from each other.

Exercise 5: Relaxation
Calmly look at something beautiful, take a deep breath in through your nose, and gently close your eyes. Slowly exhale through your mouth while consciously looking at the dark area behind your eyelids. Repeat this 3 times.

Disclaimer: if an exercise doesn't feel quite right or is painful, have your eyes checked by a specialist.

Source: Specsavers