"Better Sight Without Glasses" is the title of a book by Harry Benjamin, first published in 1929 (a PDF version is available here), based on an earlier book by William Horatio Bates, "The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment Without Glasses" (or "Perfect Sight Without Glasses"), first published in 1920.

Harry Benjamin cured himself of extreme myopia (shortsightedness) using a combination of the eye exercises devised by Bates (the Bates method) and diet.

The work of Benjamin and Bates is nowadays often considered to be fringe science, but some of it now forms the basis of modern ophthalmology. Bates' theories of how the eye works have been thoroughly debunked.

My father, like myself, was longsighted, and used the Bates method to great effect to reduce his dependence on glasses. I didn't need glasses until I suffered a stroke which impacted my ability to focus on near objects, and also found the Bates method very effective.

I started researching the Bates method for a friend, and found a Wikipedia page and was surprised to read that "The Bates method is an ineffective and potentially dangerous alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight". Elsewhere, I read that the Bates method is based on relaxation, which is demonstrably not the case. I can only conclude that much of the published material is little more than propaganda.

Eye Exercises

I have found the eye exercises to be effective, as has everyone that I know who has tried them.

For people with vision problems, a typical scenario is that you get glasses or contact lenses to, as much as possible, perfect your vision, and a couple of years later your eyesight has become worse so you do it all again. At the very least, eye exercise are likely to slow down or stop the deterioration of your eyesight; many people report gradual improvement, with some eventually able to do without corrective lenses.

If you decide to try any of the eye exercises, you only need to do 10 minutes per day. These are not cardio-exercises, so you don't need to do all 10 minutes in one go, so you can do them when you have a couple of minutes waiting at traffic lights, at your desk or walking.

If you feel that the exercises are straining your eyes, pause them or change them to cause less strain (i.e. instead of focusing on something 3 feet away, focus om something 5 feet away).

Focusing Exercises

Focus on something in the distance for about 2 seconds, then on something close for about 2 seconds, and repeat.

Choose near and far objects that you can focus on, with adequate lighting and clear edges/contrast. If you cannot properly focus on objects at 3 feet, chose something further away; if you can't focus on something far away, choose something a little nearer.

Normally, exercise both eyes together. If one eye is much worse than the other, you can exercise each eye separately, covering the other eye.

Eye Alignment Exercises

There are two aspects to eye alignment: alignment when looking up/down/left/right, and alignment while changing focus.

To improve your eye alignment while looking up, down, left and right, look straight ahead and focus on something that is at an easy focusing distance for 2 seconds, then look in another direction and focus for 2 seconds, then go back to looking straight ahead, then look in a different direction, and so on until you have looked in each direction. Then repeat.

To improve your eye alignment while changing focus, focus on something near for 2 seconds, and then something distant for 2 seconds, and then repeat.

When doing these eye alignment exercises, concentrate on aligning your eyes to remove any double vision, but not to the extent that you strain your eyes.

Exercises to Adapt to Changes in Light Levels

This is the only exercise that could damage your eyesight, so please be careful.

Focus on something brightly lit (not the sun, a clear sky or a light source), e.g. something outdoors, for 2 seconds, and then on something less well lit (but not dark), e.g. something indoors, for 2 seconds, then repeat.