Ask These Questions Before Starting Vision Improvement

If you’re considering natural vision improvement, you probably have questions. In fact, you might ask yourself whether this approach will actually work for your specific vision condition.

On my live Clear Vision Wednesday show (subscribe here and never miss a live episode), I answered the questions people ask most often about improving vision naturally. From “How long will this take?” to “Can this help my condition?” to “Why aren’t I seeing progress?” These are the exact concerns you need addressed before you start.

Here’s what you should ask before beginning your vision improvement journey.

Question #1: What Aspects Of Vision Can Actually Improve?

The biggest aspect of vision people ask only about visual acuity (how sharp you see, e.g. what line of letters can you read on an eye chart). But that’s just one aspect of vision.

Vision includes:

• Peripheral vision (your visual field)
• Night vision
• Binocular vision (how your two eyes work together for depth perception)
• Color vision
• Ability to focus at different distances
• Inner Vision
• and more

All of these matter. Sometimes improving peripheral vision or reducing eye strain matters more for your daily life than reading one line smaller on a chart.

Before you start, ask yourself: what do I actually want to improve? Is it driving at night? Reducing headaches? Getting out of glasses for computer work? Reading without strain?

When you ask this question clearly and have a big why, you’ll do the work and see results.

Question #2: How Do I Measure Progress?

You don’t need fancy equipment to ask this question and get answers. Key is to write down your starting point and then remeasure in regular intervals that feel good to you. I recommend at least every other week, ideally weekly. The longer you wait you risk of just having a bad, stressful day and feeling this isn’t working, when in reality you’ve been making great progress.

For visual acuity: Use any text. A book with different print sizes for near vision, or a poster on the wall for distance. At your starting point, note: “I can read this text at this distance.” Then track whether you can read different sizes at the same distance, or the same text from further away or in dimmer light.

For peripheral vision: Have someone wave their hands behind you and note when you see them. Or one eye at a time with your hand leaving the periphery field on the side open, stretch your arm to the side, move it back and forth and mark where you can still see it with a sticker on the wall (save the spot you stood at to replicate this for next time).

For binocular vision: Use a 2-3 m (6-10 ft) white cord, string or thin rope. For an even better assessment attach 3-5 clips, beads or clothes pins to your string and spread them out. Attach the string to a door knob, then move back so the string becomes taut. Hold the end of the string under your nose and look at it.

If you see two strings crossing at an X where you’re focusing (easier to check with your clip or bead), your eyes are working together. Now check if the strings look the same or if one is more faint or if any pieces are missing. If you only see one string, one of your eyes is not participating, or your eyes don’t work together and you do not have depth perception (this can be trained!).

Magic eye books are another fun tool to assess your binocular vision. If you can see the 3D images you have good binocular vision (note there is two ways to do this and you might not be strong in both convergence and divergence skills).

For night vision: Notice how comfortable you feel driving at dusk or at night. Is there a difference between driving through the country side with nothing but moon light versus driving on a city highway with lots of headlights beaming into your eyes? Do you feel safe? Do you see signs and lane markers easily?

For color vision: You can do a free online Ishihara color blindness test . Or a free color sensitivity test. Ir try this color matching game. And check your blue and green perception.

Ask yourself what matters most to you, then track that specific aspect consistently.

Question #3: At What Age Does This Still Work?

People constantly ask me: “Am I too old for this?”

I’ve had clients in their nineties see improvements.

Obviously, the younger you are, the faster it generally goes and the better the results. But you can make improvements at any age.

Your eyes aren’t made of steel. They’re made of flesh, blood, and tissues. And we see in the brain, not the eyeballs, so we can train the brain at any age.

Don’t let anyone tell you it’s too late to ask for better vision.

Question #4: How Long Does This Take?

This is the question everyone wants to ask first.

It depends on how long you’ve worn glasses, how old you are, how willing you are to reduce your glasses strength and not wear glasses when you don’t really need them, and how committed you are.

Some people see improvements in one day. For others, it might take a few months.

Some improvements might be temporary initially before they become permanent.

Here’s the fine line: have a goal, but don’t put pressure on yourself. If you pressure yourself, you’re not going to be in the relaxed state, and your vision will not be as good.

Ask yourself what you want, but hold it lightly.

Question #5: Do I Have To Do All The Exercises?

People ask this constantly, worried they can’t keep up with a demanding routine.

No. It’s not about doing everything all day long.

What I want is changing your habits. One habit is staring at screens without blinking, which creates huge strain.

Build a little morning ritual with a few techniques. Then alternate what you do throughout the day based on what you need.

Notice what works for you and what helps you relax.

Eventually, over time, you’ll have better habits. Initially, you need to practice these things. But then they become automatic.

Don’t ask yourself to be perfect. Ask yourself to be consistent with small changes.

Question #6: Do I Still Need To See An Eye Doctor?

Yes. You absolutely need to see your eye doctor, and I recommend seeing an ophthalmologist.

You want to make sure your eyes are healthy, your retina is healthy, the blood vessels, macula and optic disc look good, there’s no elevated intraocular pressure, your lens, vitreous and cornea clear.

Get your prescription measurements, just don’t fill your full-strength prescription.

Don’t be ignorant about this. Many eye diseases develop silently. Glaucoma especially can lead to blindness, and you don’t really know you have it until it’s often too late or your peripheral field is already very compromised.

Ask your ophthalmologist the right questions about your eye health, not just your prescription numbers.

I recommend all my clients see their eye doctor regularly, up to every six months, depending on age and history.

Question #7: Will This Help My Specific Condition?

People ask this all the time: Does it help with myopia, presbyopia, cataracts, floaters, astigmatism, vitreous detachment, retinal detachment, macular degeneration, glaucoma?

Yes.

What I teach is based on nervous system regulation, using the eyes the way they were designed to be used, and most importantly, working with the brain.

All the things I recommend will help with any vision condition.

Everyone thinks they have this unique condition that nobody else has. That’s not true. I’ve worked with Fuchs’ dystrophy, corneal disease, and so many different conditions.

Even if you’ve had LASIK or cataract surgery, we can still make improvements. You’re not starting from ground zero, but we can train the brain and work with the tissues.

Ask me about your specific condition, and the answer is likely yes, this approach can help.

Question #8: Why Haven’t I Seen Improvements After Six Months?

If you’re doing exercises every morning but not seeing improvements, ask yourself these questions:

Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? That creates tension, which makes vision worse.

What are you doing the rest of the day? If you’re in a high-stress environment, not breathing right, and not using good natural vision habits, then a few minutes of exercises in the morning won’t make a big difference.

Are you tracking properly? If visual acuity is your number one goal, you have to use an eye chart and check your vision regularly.

What are your daily habits? Are you getting sunlight? Going outside? How much time are you spending looking at screens? Are you moving your eyes around, looking near and far?

There are so many factors beyond just eye exercises. Nutrient levels, heavy metal exposure, blood sugar balance, toxic burden, body tension all impact your vision.

Ask yourself what else might be blocking your progress.

Question #9: Should I Go Without Glasses Or Use Lower Prescription?

This is a great question, and the answer is: it’s a combination.

Anything you can do safely without glasses, do without glasses. That doesn’t mean running around in a totally blurry field, but maybe you can read without glasses, be on the computer without glasses, or go on a hike without glasses.

Only wear them when you really need them.

But here’s the key: we also work on reducing the strength of your glasses. If you’re nearsighted, you should never wear your distance prescription on the computer, especially if you spend any amount of time looking at a screen about two feet away. You need about a diopter less in your glasses or contacts than you do for distance vision. Otherwise, you’re overcorrected and it’s a huge strain for the eyes.

Ask yourself: where do I actually need full-strength glasses, and where can I use reduced prescriptions or go without?

Question #10: How Do I Improve Vision When Working On Screens All Day?

People ask this when they’re medical students, programmers, or anyone working long hours on computers.

Screens aren’t ideal, but you can improve your vision while working on them.

Here’s what helps:

Blink more. Studies show people don’t blink much when looking at screens. Blinking keeps your eyes lubricated and relaxed.

Look away frequently. If you can place your computer at a window, it’s easy to look up and look far frequently.

Expand your peripheral vision. Make sure you have some light on the side so you’re not in tunnel vision mode.

Use better light. Initially, I prefer brighter light. If you can do something without glasses with brighter light, that’s better than putting stronger glasses on in dim light.

Set up your environment for success. Have good peripheral vision when you work, look far frequently, take quick breaks to get up from your desk.

I did a three-day event where we spent 28 hours looking at screens, and everybody improved their vision. So don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible.

Ask yourself how to optimize your screen environment, not whether you should avoid screens entirely.

Question #11: What Causes Halos And Glare?

Many people ask about halos and glare around lights, especially at night.

Halos and glare usually come from astigmatism, cataracts or post LASIK surgery.

Astigmatism is a refractive error related to how the cornea and lens bend light. If there’s astigmatism, you can have doubling or streaking of lights at night. Or you see two or three moons. Halos can also happen after LASIK surgery, a very common side effect.

Or it could be from cataracts, which create that fuzzy clouding.

For dry eyes specifically, halos and glare can definitely come from that too.

All of these things can be improved, but it depends on what you have and why.

I’ve had people improve their cataracts from stage three to stage one and a half. People with early-stage cataracts completely reversed them.

But especially with eye diseases, it’s also about diet: eating clean, not eating sugar, not drinking alcohol. It’s about detoxification, not taking steroids or being exposed to heavy metals (dental implants or fillings, pipes or paint in old houses).

Ask your eye doctor what’s causing your halos, then address the root cause systemically.

Question #12: Should I Get Out Of Progressive Glasses?

If you ask me this question, my answer is always yes.

Progressive glasses (multifocal lenses) cause all kinds of habitual weird things.

If you ever see people on Zoom meetings with their chin up, they’re using multifocal lenses. That weird movement of your head and eyes is actually correlated to functional astigmatism.

Getting out of progressive glasses also saves a lot of money.

Switching from progressive to bifocal is much better, but only for specific situations like driving, where you always look straight ahead for far distance and down for close (like the dashboard).

In real life, bifocals don’t work well. You go on a hike and look down, that’s not reading distance. You look at a computer straight ahead, that’s not far distance.

Ask yourself if you’re ready to invest in single-vision glasses for different distances instead.

Question #13: What Actually Helps With Floaters?

People ask about floaters constantly because traditional eye doctors say nothing can be done.

Floaters are a product of aging. The vitreous humor (the gel in the back of the eyes where floaters happen) tends to liquefy a little bit as we get older.

There’s a small study from Taiwan where people who ate pineapple (one or two slices daily) for the bromelain enzyme they have. The study participants all had a reduction in their floaters but that was self reported, not confirmed with an eye exam. Most of the enzyme bromelain is in the stem of the pineapple, that stringy part we don’t usually eat.

What I’ve noticed helps: relaxation and stress reduction. Some people take hyaluronic acid supplements. You can try bromelain supplements or hyaluronic acid and see if that makes a difference.

From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, floaters are also a sign of liver connection. The liver and eyes are connected, so floaters could be from toxic exposure like heavy metals.

Floaters are annoying, but they’re really more harmless than other vision conditions. I usually don’t even notice mine when I’m relaxed.

Ask yourself what’s causing the floaters (aging, toxins, stress) and address those root causes.

Question #14: How Do I Work With Children On Vision?

Parents and grandparents ask this all the time.

Everything with children has to be a game. You can’t just tell a child to sit in the corner and do palming.

If you’re patching an amblyopic eye, cover their eyes and tell bedtime stories. With older children (8 to 10), you can both cover your eyes and switch. The second one opens their eyes, the other has to cover their own eyes. Make it fun.

Bean bag tossing is great for binocular vision and hand-eye coordination. Occlude one eye so they have no depth perception. This helps them hone those skills.

Children’s stores have so many tools you can use for vision improvement. Just make it playful, not like homework.

Ask yourself: how can I make this fun? That’s the key with kids.

Question #15: Why Did My Vision Get Worse Again?

People ask this when they’ve made progress and then regressed.

Just like with all our other health markers, we might have an ideal, then we gain some weight, lose some strength, have higher blood pressure, or more tension in the body.

It’s not so much regressing as the up and down of life.

But recognizing “my vision is getting a little worse again” is like the engine light coming on. Ask yourself: What am I doing? What’s going on in my life? Why is my vision getting worse?

Do I have more stress? Am I spending more time on the computer? Did I do a lot of tasks I hate? Are there toxic people in my life impacting my ability to feel good?

Once you get more aware, that’s the first part of improving again.

Sometimes it’s literally the task you’re doing or being around people who aren’t good for you. That can affect your whole nervous system and your vision.

Ask the hard questions about lifestyle and stress, not just about eye exercises.

What To Ask Yourself Right Now

Vision improvement is possible at any age and for any condition. But it requires asking the right questions upfront.

Don’t just ask “Will this work?” Ask:

• What specific aspect of vision do I want to improve?
• How will I track progress in a way that matters to me?
• Am I willing to change my daily habits, not just do morning exercises?
• What systemic health issues (blood sugar, toxic burden, stress) might be blocking my progress?
• Where can I safely reduce or eliminate glasses?
• What’s my environment like for screens, light, and movement?

Ask these questions honestly, and you’ll know whether you’re ready to commit to natural vision improvement.

And remember: the quality of your questions determines the quality of your results.

If you want to learn more about natural vision improvement approaches that work, start by asking better questions.

For comprehensive guidance on eye health and vision improvement techniques, visit the American Academy of Ophthalmology for evidence-based information about eye conditions and treatment options.

Join me for a free masterclass on December 27th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern where I’ll answer your most pressing questions about vision improvement live. Register here to save your seat.

Watch the episode of ASK Me ANYTHING Live Today