This article is Day 1 of a long term vision improvement experiment. To get the full value of what I am learning, be sure to check out the introductory article which also has links to all of my updates.

Today was my first full day without glasses. Here’s how it went.

I mostly just spent the day adapting to life without glasses. Last night, I developed a headache, which is unusual for me. I’m sure it had something to do with the forced change in my vision.

Obviously, my world was fuzzy and blurry. I’m not used to living this way, so I was pretty frustrated. Plus I had a headache, which I assume is related to the need to use my eyes differently. The act of seeing is taking a huge effort. In the past, I just took it for granted, but now it seems like I have to put effort into it, and it actually makes me tired. I just didn’t feel like straining to look at anything today, which means I can’t get any work done. In fact, I did a whole lot of nothing. I decided to relax and just let myself adapt to this new situation. I listened to Thriller and some ragtime and tried not to think about all the work that I’m leaving undone.

While I was eating breakfast, I made some unexpected observations about how I see. My seat at the kitchen table faces a window that I like to look through as I eat. I noticed that as I was staring into space, my focus was actually fixed on a spot somewhere directly in front of my face, rather than on the trees or houses I was looking at in the distance. Several times, I caught myself looking at a tree or a house, assuming that I was just passively looking at it — but I was actually focusing on that imaginary point in front of my face. It’s hard to describe. It was as though I was looking at a faraway object, thinking that I was looking at that object, before realizing that my vision was not focused on that object at all. My vision in these situations gave me the feeling of being in a daze, even though my mind was totally alert. Each time I realized this, I snapped my vision back under control and focused away from the point in space and onto the distant object. I immediately felt better, even though my powers of focus could not completely resolve the houses or trees in the distance — that is, they remained blurred, only less so. And, I have to add, although they were blurry, I perceived that I was looking right at them, rather than at empty space.

I assumed that the point in front of my face to which my focus habitually went would be exactly where the lenses of my glasses would sit. It’s hard to say exactly where that habitual focusing point is, but it seems to be a few inches from the front of my face. It’s hard to say.

I went for a walk in the wonderful spring weather. I had no trouble getting around, and I am confident that I could drive safely with the level of vision that I have now. I couldn’t read the signs, though.

I also noticed some kind of blister or irritated area on the part of my left ear, where the temple arms of my glasses would rest. I don’t know how long it has been there, but I assume my glasses caused it. I wonder why I never noticed it before — or is this a parting gift from my ex-friend?

I made some adaptations to my computer to make it easier to see. I increased the font size in my main text editor so that I could type and read comfortably while sitting back in my chair (I’m glad I have a big Cinema Display!) Surprisingly, I can still read text at its normal size without getting absurdly close to the screen. Also, Apple provides a screen zooming tool that you can access either by pressing Control and scrolling with a Mighty Mouse or trackpad, or by using Option-Command-“=“ and Option-Command-“-“. It’s very helpful. You can enable those tools in the Universal Access control panel, which before today I never had a use for.

I keep bringing my hand up to the side of my head as though I’m adjusting phantom glasses. One day isn’t long enough to destroy an ingrained habit like that. I laugh, though, because if I had been wearing glasses, I would not even realize that I was adjusting them. I was actually surprised by how often I must be adjusting my glasses each day. Changing your environment in even one small way can really help you focus on things that you’re missing. It’s like visiting a foreign country — even Canada — and then returning home to a familiar place that suddenly seems different. So far, removing my glasses is forcing me to change my focus in more ways than just what I’m looking at.

Related posts:

1. Do Glasses Make Your Vision Worse?
2. Reducing Myopia With Plus Lenses
3. What Eye Exercises Do I Do, and Other Questions
4. The Key to Natural Vision Improvement
5. My Eyesight Improved Since I Took Off the Glasses