I run a lot. I try to get out there and get some sort of run in at least five days a week. It might be for 20 minutes; the other day it was for an hour and half. Sometimes I listen to music or an audiobook. Other times I just enjoy the sounds (or quiet) of the outdoors. Recently, however, I’ve had fun working eye and sensory exercises into my run. Sometimes this just seems like a good way to fit in some of my exercises, sometimes it gives me something to do if I’m a little bored with the run, sometimes it distracts me when I’m dragging a bit.

I started playing around with this a bit after reading about this study in an article in Men’s Journal. It suggests that focusing on markers along your route can make your run seem easier and actually lead to faster times. Emily Balcetis, coauthor of the study and a psychology professor at NYU, suggests that runners "Pick a landmark a few blocks ahead, like a stop sign or a tree. When you hit your target, repeat. Pick the next landmark in view."

As soon as I went out and tried this trick, it became obvious that a slight modification would turn it into a great eye exercise: I look ahead as far as I can (this sometimes depends on the contour of the road) for a branch, mailbox, sign, or anything else that is likely to have some detail when viewed up close and that my head is likely to pass within a few feet of. While it’s still distant I work on picking out details (such as writing) as soon as I can. Once I identify something, I look for something new (perhaps a crack or smaller bit of writing). Once I get in the 10-20 foot range, I try to bring all of the details into focus and hold them there. Ideally, I can pass within a couple of feet of the object - close enough to force me to adjust my near vision focus. Once I have passed it, I find a new object in the distance. I have found that I’m getting a good eye workout and that the time seems to speed by a bit quicker (I don’t think I’m actually running any faster!).

Once I figured out that neat trick, I began to play around with some other eye exercises while running. For example, trying to hold mailboxes that are on opposite sides of the street in my peripheral vision for as long as possible. Or guessing how many steps it will take me to reach a certain landmark (ie. does my perception of distance match the actual distance). Or seeing how quickly I can determine the color or shape of a car coming from behind me.

I have also played around with other sensory exercises. How long before I can pick up ten distinct scents. If I see something that I know has a scent, how far away can I smell it (farms, bakeries, coffee shops, smoking chimney, roadkill - lots of good options out there). Do the same thing with sounds. Can I identify 10 distinct sounds before I get to Chestnut St? How far away can I hear the river that’s up ahead. With touch, it’s a bit tougher, but you can try to focus on the feel of different surfaces under your feet as you run (how does a trail feel vs. the road, can you feel that crack or leaf, can you feel if a surface is smooth or rough?).

We’ll leave taste out of it for now. Nobody wants to focus on that taste in your mouth after a long run….

Remember, just by being out there exercising, you will be helping all of your senses (and your overall health). They all typically function better after exercise.

Age well my friends!

The bulk of the medical community and, to a certain extent, conventional wisdom has preached for decades that eye exercises are ineffectual with nearsightedness (myopia) because the problem is rooted in the fact that the eyeball is the wrong shape and eye exercises can't fix that. Although I am very hesitant to claim otherwise due to the lack of rigorous medical studies supporting it, I have put forth numerous times that the arguments against the effectiveness of eye exercises in combating nearsightedness seem to ignore some of the data out there.

From The 15 Minute Fix: VISION:

There is strong evidence that nearsightedness is largely caused by our environment. Statistics indicate that 100 years ago, around 5% of the U.S. population suffered from myopia (nearsightedness), while today nearly a third of the U.S. population is nearsighted. It stands to reason that the ability to read well into the night, the shift from outdoor jobs to factory jobs to desk jobs, and the introduction of computers are likely reasons for the degeneration of modern eyeballs. Therefore, it stands to reason, that if our environment is causing the damage, then we can take steps to stop or even repair the damage. 

This is why I found this article "Is Nearsightedness An Epidemic?" in U.S. News and World Report so interesting. Research by Christine Wildsoet, professor of vision science and optometry at the University of California–Berkeley, found that:

In the early 1970s, about 25 percent of 12- to 54-year-old Americans were myopic. By the 2000s, more than 41 percent had the condition..... Other countries, particularly those in East Asia where schooling starts earlier and lasts longer each day, have beat us to the chase..... In Taiwan, the myopia prevalence among 7-year-olds increased from 5.8 percent in 1983 to 21 percent in 2000. And in South Korea, a large, representative study of 19-year-olds showed that more than 96 percent were myopic in 2010.

So does the research indicate that anything can be done about it? 

Australia is one country that’s traditionally lagged behind in myopia progression trends. That’s likely due in part to the down-under lifestyle and landscape that promotes time outdoors, says Wildsoet..... Research has linked more time outdoors with decreased risk of myopia progression, even when controlling for the amount of time indoors and reading.

This sounds an awful lot like engaging in eye exercises.

The article also suggests doing 20-20-20, the second exercise in The 15 Minute Fix: VISION. A couple of the other suggestions seem to have come straight from the book as well: eat a nutritious diet with lots of eye healthy foods and taking steps to avoid Computer Vision Syndrome.

This article and the research behind it lead me to further question the claim that eye exercises can do nothing to prevent nor improve myopia. The evidence clearly supports the view that many cases of myopia are brought on by lifestyle and environment. Given that, there are steps that can be taken to avoid the damage caused by these factors and possibly even reverse damage done. Some might say that taking breaks and getting outside don't qualify as eye exercises. I disagree - getting outside has always been a form of exercise. However, we often engage in more structured exercise (going to the gym, running, cross-fit, etc.) because adding structure to our exercise allows us to improve ourselves in less time and in a more focused manner. 

It's no different with eye exercises. If you can consistently get outside and continue to use your eyes in a dynamic, varied way every day (this includes actively using near vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and tracking), then you probably don't need eye exercises. But for those of you who have lives that make this difficult, eye exercises are a great substitute - just as the gym can be for physical fitness.

I am optimistic that research like this will get the ball rolling on more serious long term research on how dynamic eye usage (sometimes known as eye exercises) can delay, prevent, or even lessen nearsightedness.

Age well my friends....