Within our constrained urban settings a small subset of our eye functionality suffices. As we progress further into a screen-dominated lifestyle the scope of this subset diminishes. Therefore actively engaging the entirety of the scope of the mechanism of vision is fruitful, often in unanticipated ways.
Below are exercises to strengthen visual acuity at any age. They are offered as guidelines/ideas that can be creatively explored, turned into games, or form the basis of a comprehensive software platform for eye/cognitive performance.
One example of a comprehensive system can be explored here:
(I have looked closely at this program but am not recommending it specifically, rather offering it as an example of the state of play).
EXAMPLE EYE TRACKING EXERCISES
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The attribution for these pages is lost to the past.
This writer occasionally does some eye-tracking exercises with a few clients. However, he knows, from working with an urban client cohort, that it would be beneficial for all of his clients to do a complete series of exercises at every session, and do them frequently on himself.
- Red is the best color to use for an object to track. This writer uses a small red bear, which works well for both children and adults. When squished it squeaks, which is helpful to draw children’s attention back to it.
- Watch the eye movements closely. It is common to observe points on the track where one or both eyes lose their ability to follow. Slowly work back and forth with these points.
- The speed of the tracking should not exceed 1 foot/second, at least to start, and may need to be 6”/second or less.
- 3-5 minutes is about all the eyes can take at one time but the exercises can be done frequently (every few hours).
- If the exercises are too challenging to do standing, do them sitting, kneeling, crouching, or lying supine.