This article is Day 72 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.
It has been 50 days since my last post on my vision experiments. For the horrible lack of updates, I can blame my preoccupation with iPhone development during the last two months (look here if you’re curious). I plan to combine apps and blogging more harmoniously in the future. Also, I always figured that any vision changes I might experience would come gradually. If I blogged about my vision every single day for months or years, the posts would mostly be the same: “Stuff is blurry. Is it getting better? Boy do I hope so.”
I have continued to live mostly without glasses, and mostly happily at that. What’s unfortunate is that I have to stare at a glowing rectangle to accomplish all of my work. This glowing rectangle, in the form of various iMacs, PowerBooks, and Power Macs over the years, is the actual cause of the near-point stress that supposedly made my world fuzzy. That and books. It makes no difference whether the stressor is paper or glass; habitually seeing at near distances causes adaptation to near vision. The glasses only accelerated the worsening. According to the theory, anyway.
Nearly every kind of mental work requires seeing or manipulating little symbols within arm’s reach. I suppose if I threw away the computer and chose a career of, say, outdoor work, my vision might improve and stay that way for awhile. But my brain would be unhappy. Giving up the intellectual world is not an option. I’m just trying to maintain good, natural vision while doing the mental work I want and need to do.
As an aside, I think that to the extent that computers are blamed for accelerating myopia in the recent past, it is due to the length of time one can comfortably spend using them. I had several days of working from 5 am until 9 pm on iPhone apps. I was completely enraptured and would have gone on forever if I didn’t have to sleep and eat. Books are static and are mostly about consuming ideas rather than creating them. While I’m sure people used to read from dawn until dusk — I’ve done it myself — the book experience doesn’t compare to the variety and diversity of things you can both consume and create on a computer. Computers subsume everything books do and add so many more levels, and therefore invite longer periods of use.
Luckily, the path that led me into perdition can lead me out.
If near point stress gradually caused my nearsightedness, then the opposite should correct it. Ideally, I would put my eyes in an environment where they are encouraged to focus a little farther than they are used to, day after day.
The problem is that the world is so fuzzy that if I look at a tree in the distance, I can make no effort to focus on it. It’s not even possible. So if I take off my glasses and just look around — what they call relaxation therapy — my eyes might not get any worse, but they probably won’t get any better. My eyes don’t feel the slightest stress to focus on a blurry object 100 feet away.
They do feel stress when viewing the same computer screen at a distance just a little farther than I’m used to. So this is what I do to actively engage my eyes in focusing at farther and farther distances: instead of looking at the horizon like I’d like to, I’m looking at a computer screen that has been slightly blurred because I’m sitting a little father from it. It makes sense that my goal of someday viewing the big world out there with perfect clarity should start by moving the computer screen just an inch farther from my eyes. An object near the horizon is so highly blurred that it’s impossible for my eyes to resolve it, but when I view a computer screen positioned just outside of my short range of sharp vision, I can actually feel the effort that my eyes make to focus on it.
We’ll see if there is any improvement when I have my eye exam later this summer.
5 Comments
How did your eye exam turn out? Did your vision improve? Thanks.
Debbie
Debbie,
Incredibly, my vision did improve. I wrote about it here. I’m very happy!
Thank you, Tod, for posting your thoughts and experiences on this subject. I have a suggestion for your computer work. I recently (year ago) switched to a virtual position where I work from the computer 100% (plus online coursework in the evenings) and have noticed a dramatic increase in eyestrain and pain. I have horrible myopia, by the way – can’t see my hand clearly 12″ away without glasses. Yesterday, I added a wireless keyboard and mouse to my system and reduced the resolution (larger pring) on my large monitor so that I can now sit 8-10 feet away from it. It takes some work to focus on smaller text, but it gets easier with effort, and it feels much more natural than looking at a screen 14″ away. I remember thinking almost immediately “This might actually improve my vision!”
Hi Tod,
There are ODs and MDs who recognize the necessity to start with the plus before your Snellen goes below 20/40, or about -3/4 diopters. At that point, if you were told of your choice, the plus could be effective for you, even if it meant long-term wearing of the plus. I only advocate that you be informed at that point, since we are almost all at 20/30 or better at age 5. Assuming you are at 20/40 to 20/50 on your own Snellen, and have strong resolve, I have prepared some videos on how to obtain and use a plus lens. Just go to YouTube and type, “OtisSumnerBrown”. I hope you enjoy them.
Thank you! The videos are great. How I wish I knew about plus lenses when I was 16.