Boost Color Vision Using LIGHT and FOCUS
If you’ve ever looked at vibrant flowers in spring and wondered, “Do others see the same colors I do?” you’re not alone. Color isn’t just a visual experience. It’s emotional, intuitive, and deeply personal.
No one better to share insights on improving color vision than vision educator Nathan Oxenfeld. I had invited him back to my Clear Vision Wednesday show to talk about this aspect of vision that rarely gets talked about by eye doctors: color vision.
Nathan experiences red-green color blindness and has spent years observing how his color perception and color vision has improved through the principles and practices of the Bates Method and more mindfulness with colors.
This isn’t about changing your diagnosis. It’s about recognizing if you actually have color vision deficiencies or even color blindness, noticing your experience, supporting your visual system, and building a more relaxed relationship with the world around you.
What is color vision?
Color vision is how your brain interprets light. The eyes receive signals from different wavelengths of light through your cone cells in the retina. We have red, blue and green receptive cone cells. If you only have two types of cones, lets say blue and red, differentiating between red and green is not optimal. But in the end it’s your brain that interprets the data coming in. That means what you perceive is influenced by more than your eye structure. It’s also shaped by memory, imagination and using your central vision better, because that’s where the majority of color vision cone cells are located.
Nathan discovered he saw color differently as a child when he described the neon green markings on this alarm clock as orange to his friends. They looked at him bewildered. Since then, he’s been curious about the influence of expectation, memory, and beliefs on our perception.
Can color vision improve naturally?
Men have a much higher chance of being color blind. About 1 in 12 men is color blind, compared to 1 in 200 women. Nathan didn’t start his vision journey with color in mind. He was simply learning how to reduce visual tension and spend less time relying on glasses. But as he practiced things like sunning, palming, and central focus, he began to notice more vibrancy in his surroundings.
Colors looked richer. His perception felt more awake. He performed better in the standard Ishihara color vision test. Here is a free Ishihara test to check your color vision. And even though his test results improved, there are still plates he cannot identify the numbers in. The biggest change for him was how he experienced colors in the world around him.
What affects how we perceive color?
You might be surrounded by color, but that doesn’t mean you’re fully seeing it. Visual strain, mental tension, and poor light habits can all dull the way color shows up for you.
The cones in your retina respond to red, green, and blue light. But if your visual system is tight or overworked, that input may not be interpreted clearly. The good news is your brain is adaptable. And with gentle awareness, it can begin to perceive more than it did before.
Natural practices that support color vision
You don’t need expensive gadgets or intense routines to boost your color vision. The simple practices and habits below will support your visual system and help awaken your perception of color.
Sunning with closed eyes
Exposing your closed eyes to natural sunlight by facing the light and turning your head side to side is a simple way to nourish your color vision cone cells in the retina. Just a few minutes at a time in the morning or late afternoon helps stimulate these cells, improves pupillary function, reduces light sensitivity and sets our internal clock for optimal sleep.
Once you have adjusted, blinking the eyes open when your head is turned to the side, away from the direct sunlight, is a great way to improve even more. Following with palming helps to relax, and it gives you a beautiful display of colors in your inner visual field, which is a natural and healthy reaction to the light exposure.
If one of your eyes is more light sensitive — which is common with nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism — you can also cover the eye while doing the sunning. Or alternate the eyes, first covering the right, then the left and back and forth.
Central focus with color
When your central and color vision is not optimal, you might have the habit of trying to see everything in front of you equally clear. Anatomically that is not possible. Only the tiny fovea centralis in your retina has a dense layer of only cone cells. That’s why you see colors best in that spot where you also have the sharpest vision.
Try this simple exercise to boost your color vision and central sharp vision:
Place two bright objects, like colored pencils or sticky notes, in your visual field. Look at one, then shift to the other. Notice how the one you’re directly looking at seems more vivid. This is a great way to gently practice central focus and remind your system how it prefers to see.
Color memory during palming
While resting your eyes with palming, bring a favorite color to mind. Picture it vividly. Even if you’ve been told you can’t see that color well, your imagination engages your brain’s visual center and helps reconnect emotion to perception.
Color walks
Choose a color each day and look for it in nature or your surroundings (this can be outside or inside). This isn’t a test. It’s a way to build awareness and stimulate the cones without strain. The more you notice it, the more your brain learns to pay attention to that color.
Your brain fills in the blanks
Here’s something fascinating. The outer areas of your vision don’t actually perceive color clearly. But you’d never know it. That’s because your brain fills in what it expects to see.
This is important. It means that your visual system is more flexible than you think. If your brain can “guess” color where none is registered, it can also become more receptive to color where there is input. The key is presence, not pressure.
What matters most
Whether you live with a color vision differences, partial or total color blindness or simply want to feel more visually engaged, the starting point is the same. Connect mental and visual focus. Breathe. Notice. Let color be part of your everyday awareness again.
Steps to begin to improve your color vision
- Pick a color today and look for it in five places
- Try a short sunning session followed by palming
- Practice shifting focus between two colorful objects
- Imagine a favorite color while your eyes are closed
- Allow yourself to notice without needing to “see better”
Final thoughts
Color vision isn’t fixed. It’s alive, evolving, and influenced by more than just your eyes.
By creating space in your day to notice color, you support your visual system in quiet, meaningful ways. The goal is not to “correct” your vision. It’s to reconnect with what makes life vibrant.
If you’re curious to explore this further, you’re welcome to join us inside the Naturally Clear Vision program or tune in for the next Clear Vision Wednesday session.
Until then, keep noticing what feels beautiful. Your perception is always worth your attention.
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
Clear Vision Without Glasses Using LIGHT and COLOR!
Connect with Nathan and learn more about his programs and events
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