Welcome to the Better Vision blog where you’ll find information and tips on how to care for your eyes and improve your vision without glasses, contacts, drugs, or surgery.
This is the second post of a 4 segment series entitled Myths Behind Bad Eyesight. Click here to read the first post.
Please visit us each month for new posts about eyes, vision, and how to see better.
Myths Behind Bad Eyesight: Part 5
Last month we posted about the five common misconceptions that lead people to think that eyesight cannot be improved:
1. Poor vision is inherited.
2. Vision inevitably deteriorates with age.
3. Poor vision is caused by certain visual activities.
4. Weak eye muscles cause poor vision.
5. Seeing is solely a physical, mechanical process.
Let’s examine myth #5 in greater detail.
(This information applies to functional vision problems - nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, eye imbalances, lazy eye, etc. Click here for information on cataracts, and here for macular degeneration.)
5. Seeing is solely a physical, mechanical process
The fifth misconception is that seeing is a mechanical process and that clear vision is determined only by the shape of the eye. If the eye is the correct shape, the result is clear vision; if it is misshapen or distorted the result is nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.
Actually, the shape of the eye is one element in the visual system, but not the only one. As just one example, eye doctors have long known that even though two people have exactly the same refractive error (how far from the retina the distorted image registers), each could have a completely different measurement of acuity (how clearly they can read the test letters on the eye chart). Mechanical measurement alone does not exactly predict how much a person can see. Other factors besides the shape of the eye are involved.
Many people notice that they see better at some times during the day than others. Some notice decreased vision when tired or under stress. What accounts for these daily fluctuations?
Have you ever driven down the highway, so engrossed in your thoughts and daydreams that you don’t “see” your exit? Or been so tired that you read page after page without understanding a word?
Vision is a dynamic, changing process, affected by many different physical, emotional and mental factors. The shape of the eye may be one factor, but even that can change as a result of training and nutrition.
Let’s look at how the eyes work, and the roles played by the body, mind and emotions in vision. Once we gain a fuller understanding of the holistic nature of vision, we’ll be ready to see better for ourselves…
The above is excerpted from The Program for Better Vision Book. Read the book and you’ll learn more about how the eyes and brain work together to create vision, and the influence that the body, mind and emotions have on seeing. You’ll also learn about the Top 10 Habits for Better Vision - important ways for you to care for and protect your vision during the day.
If you’re ready to start seeing better now, get The Program for Better Vision.