3 Simple Tricks to Sharpen Your Vision in a Snap
Summer is the time to spot butterflies and catch fireflies, making clear sight more important than ever. The great news: These tricks improve vision fast!
Lounge by the pool to ditch your readers.
Relax outdoors with your latest page-turner, and you’ll notice your near-vision becomes suddenly sharper — and stays that way. A new study in Cell Reports found that reading outside in sunlight stimulates brain cells that help you see light and dark contrast. The payoff: Words on the page look instantly sharper, says study lead Hamed Rahimi- Nasrabadi, PhD, with SUNY College of Optometry. Not only that, related research in the journal JAMA suggests that up to 40 minutes a day of reading in natural light helps “train” your brain to see better even after sunset.
Sip lemonade to spot bluebirds.
Do colorful birds and blooming lilies in the distance seem a little blurrier than usual recently? Scientists say mild summer time dehydration is to blame. “When you’re dehydrated, your eyes produce fewer tears, and dry eyes can cause vision distortion,” explains William T. Reynolds, OD, president of the American Optometric Association. Luckily, there’s a refreshingly simple fix: Kick back with an eight ounce glass of cool lemonade. H2O and citrus compounds quickly rehydrate eyes and boost tear production, while separate research out of Spain suggests that the vision-boosting vitamin C in the sipper reduces the risk of vision-clouding cataracts by 64 percent.
Try a cooling mask to find constellations.
It can take an hour for eyes to fully adjust from indoor light to the darker outdoors, but ophthalmologists’ newest fix is as pampering as it is effective to help improve vision fast. 10 minutes before you head out to take in the night sky, place a cooling pack over your eyes. The refreshing temperature relieves eyestrain and blocks out light, priming your retinas to be 80 percent better adjusted to the darker, star-sprinkled landscape.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.
