FAQ for vision improvement

by Hormetism
Three of my most popular articles are about how to
restore your eyesight naturally and liberate yourself from
glasses or contact lenses:

Myopia: a modern, yet reversible disease

Improve eyesight — and throw away your glasses
Rehabilitation

I call my general method “Hormetism” — the application

of incremental stress to improve health. While
this approach has some similarities to other natural vision
improvement methods, what is unique here is how the
method is organized around the central principle of
applying graduated, incremental defocus stress to induce
progressive improvement over time.

Hormetism is the precise opposite of the current

standard of care for correcting vision. Minus lenses are
prescribed to provide immediate relief and “correct” a
refractive error in the eye — usually a combination of
axial lengthening and thickening or spasm of the
crystalline lens. But despite the immediate relief, this
approach provides a “crutch” that induces a
compensation in the eye that makes the myopia grow
worse over time. The method of Hormetism essentially
reverses the process by using focusing techniques or
plus lenses to restore the original shape of the eye and
accommodative ability of the lens. The above linked blog
posts delve into theory and experimental evidence for my
method.

Vision improvement by Hormetism is also the single most

popular topic on my Discussion Forum, and I’m so
pleased to hear from many that these articles have
helped them to reduce or even eliminate their
dependence on glasses — without resorting to laser eye
surgery.

But I get a constant stream of questions asking for

clarifications about how to proceed. I often find myself
answering the same questions again and again.

So I’m writing this post to provide an “FAQ”:

Answers to frequently asked “practical ” questions
about how to apply this method to get results and
improve your vision. I have tried to boil it down to a
simple, step-by-step method. The information and ideas
summarized here are based upon my personal
experience, what has worked for others, and my
understanding of the science of vision. I am not
providing medical advice, so take responsibility for your
own health.

Q1. How do I start if I am myopic (nearsighted)

and can focus close up, but the distance is blurry?

A1. Follow this five step process if you are myopic:

1. Note your Snellen score. First go to the ISEE
Website and print out a Snellen chart. (That’s one
of those eye charts you use in the doctor’s office or
DMV to test your vision, like the one in the image
below). Hang it on the wall in a well lit area and mark
off a line 20 feet back from the wall. Cover each eye
separately and note the lowest line for which you can
correctly read all the letters.For example if it is Line 3
for your left eye and Line 4 for your right eye, your
Snellen score is 20/70 (L) and 20/50 (R). The
second number after the slash represents the
distance that a normal person would have to stand at
to see in focus the line that you can see at 20 feet
back. Note that score, because it is your baseline
against which to track improvement.

2. Note your diopter correction. This is the first

number on your prescription, also called the
spherical aberration. Ignore for now all the other
numbers after the first — these relate to astigmatism
or cylindrical aberration. (More about that later). OD
is the right eye and OS is the left eye. So for
example, if your prescription is
..
OD -3.00 -0,.50 x 95
OS -2.50 -1.00 x 93
..
Then your myopia can be summarized as:
..
-3.00/-2.50
..
What are diopters? Well, 100 divided by the minus
diopter number is the approximate distance (in
centimeters) that you can see clearly in focus with
each eye. Since there are 39.4 inches per meter,
then in inches that would be 39.4 divided by the
diopters. So a person with the above prescription
can see
..
39.4/3 = about 13 inches with the right eye
39.4/2.5 = about 16 inches with the left eye
..
Your Snellen score and diopter correction have
different meanings, so you can’t translate from one
to the other. However, if you don’t have your diopter
correction, you may find this chart useful in making
 an approximate translation between Snellen and
diopters.
..

..
3. Use print pushing to reduce myopia. Print
pushing is a method that involves “active focusing”.
It is not a matter of passively wearing special lenses.
It requires conscientious awareness of the reach of
your focus and an intentional effort to increase that
reach by “nudging” it. If your myopia is stronger than
-2 diopters or 20/150 in both eyes, then you cannot
see normal print in focus beyond about 20 inches.
So you can proceed to do “print pushing” without
any glasses or contacts — just your naked eyes. The
idea behind print pushing is to read right at the limit
of your focal distance, and to systematically push
that distance to become farther and farther away.
Print pushing is something you integrate into your
normal routine of reading printed matter or computer
screens. About 5 years ago, I defined three
distances to keep in mind while print pushing:
..

D1. The ‘edge of focus’ – the furthest distance for

myope (or closest for a hyperope) where a
printed letter is completely in focus
D2. The ‘edge of blur’ – the distance just beyond
the edge of focus, where the slightest blur in the
letter can just be detected
D3. The ‘edge of readability’ – the furthest
distance where you can intelligibly
recognize each letter.

..
Now D1 and D2 are going to be VERY close, almost
exactly the same distance. If you are reading at D1,
and you push the print slightly away less than an
inch, you are immediately at D2. And if you are at D2
and get the tiniest distance closer, you are back at
D1 again.You should spend the vast majority of your
time reading at D1, in perfect focus, but continually
(every few minutes), testing yourself by “pushing”
into to D2. That’s because D1 is a dynamic distance,
constantly changing. It depends on lighting
conditions, how alter or tired you feel, and other
factors. And you never want to be reading at D3 —
that is needless stress on your eyes.The whole idea
 of print pushing is to keep increasing D1 and D2 so
that your range of focus increases. Once your
myopia weakens sufficiently, go to Step 4.

4. If your myopia is mild (less than about -2

diopters), you should print push with plus

lenses. Once your myopia is -2 or less, you can

easily read a book or computer at arms’ length — at
up to about 19-20 inches (half a meter) — without
glasses. So you aren’t effectively increasing D1 and
D2 any more. That’s when you need to start using
“anti-corrective” lenses to make your eyes work
harder, by bring D1 and D2 closer. This is analogous
to wearing ankle weights to increase leg strength
when you go for a run. This technique is sometimes
known as “plus lens therapy”.Unlike minus lenses,
which have concave curvature to “correct” myopia,
plus lenses have a convex shape like a magnifying
glass, making it easier to see objects up close. But
this also brings D2 closer, making it harder to focus
in the distance. And this is precisely what makes
them useful for increasing D2 beyond 20 inches.
..
Plus lenses are sometimes called reading glasses or
“readers”, mainly to help people with hyperopia or
presbyopia read with greater ease. But you are
going to use them for the opposite purpose — for
making it harder to focus in the distance.To choose
the right strength of plus lens, I recommend making
a trip to your local pharmacy or department store,
where these “readers” are sold on rotating racks, like
those pictured to the right.Try on various pairs to find
one that allows you to read comfortably at about 15-
20 inches, but begins to blur beyond that. As a rule
of thumb, your “effective” diopters will be that of
your current diopters minus that of of the plus lens
you wear. So if you have worked your way to a -0.75
prescription, you’ll need to wear a +1.25 pair of
reading glasses to make it seem like you have -2.00
diopter myopia. So try on the +1.25 pair to see how
that works.
 ..
Wear these reading glasses for at least part of the
time you read each day. How much time? To be
effective, I would say about 1-2 hours per day while
reading. You can use them more if you are
comfortable. But rest is important, so it is very
important to follow these guidelines:
..
– Take frequent breaks every 15-30 minutes or so,
removing the glasses to look at objects near and far
– Stop if you get tired, or if your eyes get sore or red
– Use plus lenses only for reading and close work.
..
Plus lenses will create too much blur for distance
activities. (See point 5 below).As your myopia
reduces, you will want to replace these plus lenses
with stronger plus lenses. Once you get higher than
about +2.5, there is no need to go any higher.
..
5. Use under-correction for distance activities.
When not reading or doing close work, you can
provide further stimulus to myopia reversal by
wearing slightly under-corrected glasses or contacts
when at work, watching TV, sitting in lectures, or
other distance viewing. This means ordering a pair
of lenses that are about 0.25 to 0.5 diopters weaker
than your original lenses. So to use the earlier
example, for a starting of a prescription that reads:
..
OD -3.00 -0,.50 x 9
OS -2.50 -1.00 x 93
..
You would replace these with the following under-
corrected prescription, changing only the first
numbers and leaving the others alone:
..
OD -2.75 -0,.50 x 9
OS -2.25 -1.00 x 93
..
You wear these under-corrected lenses for a while
(probably a few months) until your myopia is
sufficiently reduced (by the combination of print
pushing and wearing weaker distance lenses). Then
you order additional lenses with further reductions in
the diopter correction. When you are looking at
distance objects, trace common objects with your
eyes and observe fine features, especially lines and
edges. Vary your gaze near and far, and make this
into a game. Play with it!
..
Fusing of double images. As your myopia reduces,
you may have the experience that many have of
“double vision” or ghosting. This might seem
alarming at first, but it is actually a sign of your ability
to see objects more sharply! I suggest watching the
video on my post “Myopia: a modern yet reversible
disease” for a good description of how to use a
technique I call “fusing” to take advantage of double
 images:
..
1. Find distant objects with sharp contrasting
edges: telephone wires, tree branches, edges of
buildings or signs
2. Focus on the darker of the double image and
away from the fainter image. With time, the
darker image will become darker, and the fainter
image will fade away
3. Eventually the double image with fuse into a
single crisp image — very exciting!

..
As your myopia reduces, you will start being able to
see objects in perfect focus at increasing distances,
even with your naked eye! This is where the
technique really pays off and it is exciting and even
emotional to experience this.

Q2. This all sounds great, but I have hyperopia (far

sightedness) or presbyopia (reduced
accommodation of the crystalline lens) that make it
hard for me to read fine print or read up close? What
can I do about that?

A2. Well, if you understand the principle of how

Hormetism works to reduce myopia, you should be able
to answer that question if you think about it for a
moment? What do you think the answer is? That’s right
— it’s the same method applied in the opposite direction!
When you read, instead of print pushing do “print pulling”.
Define D1, D2 and D3 by moving inward from perfect
focus starting at D1. Generally you can print pull with
your naked eye. Get as close as you can to read at D1,
and test yourself frequently by getting closer to the text.
And try to test yourself on finer and finer print. You can
also print out a near vision test card from the I-SEE
website It’s basically a Snellen chart for people with
hyoperopia or presbyopia. (It is on the final page of that
link, after the standard Snellen chart for distance vision).

Another cool way to improve near vision is to use the

“convergence” method of Ray Gottieb. You can print out
his chart and directions from the I-SEE Website. This is
a bit tricky and involves learning to allow your eyes to
relax enough that they “cross” slightly. Not everyone can
do this. It took me a while to make it work for me, but
once I got it it was like magic! Try it, it may or may not
work for you.

Q3. My myopia correction is much stronger in one eye

than the other. How do I apply your method?

A3. If the prescriptions for your right and left eyes are
within 0.5 diopters of each other (as in the above
example), then you should not have any difficulty doing
print pushing. But if they differ by more than 0.5 diopters,
then your D2 can be more than a few inches different for
the right and left eyes. So you can’t find a single distance
for print pushing that will work for both eyes.
As we age, it is common to develop a condition called
“mono vision” where the eyes tend to specialize — one is
better at distance, one for close work. This is the case
with me, where my right eye has perfect distance vision
but some presbyopia close up, whereas the the left eye is
much sharper close up but 20/40 for distance. The two
eyes work very well together, but I keep pushing each eye
to improve where it is weak. I do print pushing with my
left eye and print “pulling” with my right eye, as
explained in the answer to Question 2 above.

In such a case, I would advise to work on the eye with a

higher degree of myopia first. But to do that you have to
prevent your better “stronger” eye from doing the work,
so that your “weaker” eye is forced to improve. There are
several alternative ways to selectively work on just your
weaker eye, depicted in the diagram to the right::

1. Patch. One way to do that is to tape some paper

over the lens of the stronger eye. I recommend
using wax paper or tracing paper that diffuses the
image and prevent focusing, but lets in enough light
to keep your pupil from constricting, so you don’t
have to readjust to the light when removing the
glasses. Patching is convenient, but you may feel it
looks too awkward or “nerdy” in public.
2. Shield. I personally like this method when reading
for a long time.. Hold one hand with thumb against
nose, and tilt at a 45 degree angle to block the
stronger eye’s direct view of text, but still allow light
in. Your strong eye will be “looking” at the backside
of your tilted hand, but your brain will fill in the gap
and “see” what your weak eye sees on the page you
are reading.
3. Wink. This is similar to shielding, but is leaves both
hands free and is the least “conspicuous”. At first,
you may find it tiresome to hold one eye blinked
shut, but it is amazing how much easier and almost
effortless this becomes with practice. I can blink
one eye shut for 5 minutes without any problem.
And I periodically “flash” it open every minute or so
to keep the pupil from shutting down. This is
something you can even do while driving because
there is no issue of reaction time to open both eyes.

Q4. Glasses are expensive. Do I have to keep buying

new pairs of glasses as my vision improves?

A4. I agree that it would be costly to have to buy a new

pair of glasses every time your vision improves. There
are two alternatives I can recommend if you want to save
money and are willing to compromise a bit on style:

1. Buy some inexpensive glasses online. There are

many vendors, but a reliable one is:
zennioptical.com. They have a wide range of
choices of frames, including some under $20, and
you can just input your prescription. It is then
relatively painless to order additional pairs with
successively weaker corrections.
2. Buy adjustable lenses. You can buy these from
adlens.com or eyejusters.com. Adjustable
lenses have the advantage that you can continuously
alter the prescription so that it is fine tuned to what
you need. Some adjustable lenses can be adjusted
both as plus lenses for print pushing, and under-
corrected minus lenses for distance activities, and
even minus lenses for print pulling. I have been
experimenting with using them to work on reducing
the extent of my own mono vision (slight myopia in
the left eye and slight presbyopia/hyperopia in the
right eye). This is a nice all-purpose solution. The
main downside is that these glasses have a
somewhat reduced field of vision and tend to have a
little bit of distortion that can be annoying. But very
practical.
For the record, I have absolutely no connection or
financial interest in any of these sites, or any product
whatsoever. I have myself purchased glasses from both
Aennioptical and Adlens and have been satisfied, but I
make no promises or claims as to how well these
products will work for you. But they are cheap enough
that you can afford to experiment and to work through
several stages of improvement without spending a
bundle of money.

Q5. I have very strong myopia (usually between -6 to

-12 diopters). Will this method work for me or is it
hopeless? How long will it take me to get to 20/20?

A5. The Hormetism method can work no matter how

strong your myopia or how old you are. But you need to
be realistic. It took you many years to become myopic,
and it will require patience, consistency and time to undo
the damage. The rate of improvement varies a lot and
depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and
diet — and very much on your own consistency and
persistence. Some people can reduce 2 diopters in a
year. Others, only 0.5 diopters per year.

My experience– and that of many who have shared their

experience on the Discussion Forum — is that
improvements do not occur at a steady rate. Rather, you
will improve in sudden, unpredictable spurts. You may
see absolutely no improvement for weeks – and then one
day you find yourself more easily reading books, or you
can clearly see flowers in full focus on the other side of
the room. So be patient if you don’t make any progress in
the first few weeks, or if you stall after a few months.

And let’s be clear also that some people make a

concerted effort and never improve. But there is really
not much downside to trying, right? And you are not
exposing yourself to the risks of other more invasive and
“irreversible” methods like laser eye surgery.

At the very least, you may stabilize your vision and stop
the further progression of myopia. Otis Brown
champions this as “myopia prevention” and works with
young people and their parents to help them stall myopia
before it becomes serious.

Don’t minimize the potential impact of diet. Cordain’s

research indicates that the standard American diet, high
in sugar and industrial oils, low in fiber, omega-3 oils, and
phytonutrients is likely a strong contributor to the myopia
epidemic. I found that when I went on a mostly Paleo
diet, my visual acuity sharpened, and I notice that
consuming cod liver oil and more brightly pigmented
vegetables induced a dramatic brightening in colors at
the red and purple end of the spectrum, and better night
vision. If you practice hormetic eye exercises, but eat a
lousy diet, you may be working at cross-purposes to your
goal of improved vision.

Q6. I have astigmatism. Will this method help me?

A6. Astigmatism often reduces spontaneously as myopia
is corrected. That is what I found in my own case. But
you may also wish to experiment with specific
astigmatism reduction exercises such advocated by Leo
Angart, such as tracing with your eyes the spokes of the
Tibetan wheel, or the the similar Astigmatism Wheel used
by followers of the Bates Method. I don’t follow the
general approach of either Angart or Bates, but happily
borrow specific techniques where they prove useful.

I think that the above six questions account for about

90% of the questions I receive via individual
correspondence or see posted as comments to previous
posts or on the Discussion Forum. For those who wish to
take a deeper dive, I encourage you to head over to the
discussion forum and peruse the many insightful
discussions on vision improvement, mostly on the this
popular board:

Discussion Forum: Rehabilitation

If your questions still are not answered by this blog post

or what you find on the Discussion Forum, go ahead and
start a new three to ask the question or describe your
experience. I see a lot of good ideas over there and am
constantly learning and tweaking my own approach.

Happy seeing!