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+--- Thread: Squinting in bright sunlight (/showthread.php?tid=1884)
Squinting in bright sunlight - Aquila - 08-08-2011
There is a big obstacle in improving eyesight naturally when spending many hours out in the sun, which is the eyes' need to squint to partly prevent the bright sunlight from coming inside, which causes eyestrain, and on the other hand the prohibition of wearing sunglasses because they are bad for our eyes.
So I wondered what should I be doing - keep squinting out in the sun to protect the eyes from the bright sunlight OR prevent my eyes from squinting and keep them relaxed?
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - hereford_picnic - 08-08-2011
I'm not a pro in this and I hope someone better can soon answer your question. But I could try:
What I understand so far is that if you attain relaxation, the need for squinting also disappears. I guess it can also work in the other direction.
Once I tried to look at a test card in bright sunlight shining on the card, and I couldn't possibly look at it and had to direct the eyes away from it. But when I suddenly found it possible to look at the card, it was like ten times clearer than when looking at it with discomfort.
I have read that Bates suggested to become accustomed to bright sunlight gradually. Being a lot outdoors and trying to relax has worked for me, but the sunlight on snow was too much for me. But I'm eager to see, what the condition is next winter.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - JMartinC4 - 08-08-2011
Aquila Wrote:There is a big obstacle in improving eyesight naturally when spending many hours out in the sun, which is the eyes' need to squint to partly prevent the bright sunlight from coming inside, which causes eyestrain, and on the other hand the prohibition of wearing sunglasses because they are bad for our eyes. So I wondered what should I be doing - keep squinting out in the sun to protect the eyes from the bright sunlight OR prevent my eyes from squinting and keep them relaxed?I think that the real problem with bright sunlight causing myopes to squint/squeeze is that we are not orienting ourselves correctly within the surrounding bright light - and, once we start from a misoriented position, we don't know how to correctly adjust our viewing angles, body postures and movements, to avoid the consequent glare.
It's a double whammy. We're already unconsciously squeezing/squinting which reinforces the myopia, then we step into bright light but misposition ourselves and our viewing angles so that our eyesight is not only blurry but glarey!
Try looking about 2 inches above where your eyes ordinarily want to begin looking, and then try to maintain that raised viewing angle.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Aquila - 08-08-2011
OK. thanks for the replies, but I still didn't get a clear answer. more answers would be nice...
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - hereford_picnic - 08-08-2011
Aquila Wrote:OK. thanks for the replies, but I still didn't get a clear answer. more answers would be nice...OK, I'd vote for the latter:
Quote:So I wondered what should I be doing - keep squinting out in the sun to protect the eyes from the bright sunlight OR prevent my eyes from squinting and keep them relaxed?...but someone else could tell you how to manage the preventing part.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Aquila - 08-08-2011
hereford_picnic Wrote:Aquila Wrote:OK. thanks for the replies, but I still didn't get a clear answer. more answers would be nice...OK, I'd vote for the latter:
Quote:So I wondered what should I be doing - keep squinting out in the sun to protect the eyes from the bright sunlight OR prevent my eyes from squinting and keep them relaxed?...but someone else could tell you how to manage the preventing part.
Well I understood that you and 'JMartinC4' told me that I shouldn't squint, but your answers were missing the explanation part that would show that it won't harm my eyes..
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - hereford_picnic - 08-08-2011
Aquila Wrote:Well I understood that you and 'JMartinC4' told me that I shouldn't squint, but your answers were missing the explanation part that would show that it won't harm my eyes..
That's going to be a tough one. I'd also like to see some scientific evidence about the harmfulness of the light. Honestly. I'm not just kidding here.
But this is not meant to be taken seriously, which is also indicated by the smiley:
How do you know that the air you breathe is not dangerous to your lungs? I would't breathe too much, if I were you.
But then again, if you read anything about the Buteyko method (for asthma) you will see that the above is not just bs. Even if the air was free of pollution.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Aquila - 08-08-2011
hereford_picnic Wrote:Aquila Wrote:Well I understood that you and 'JMartinC4' told me that I shouldn't squint, but your answers were missing the explanation part that would show that it won't harm my eyes..
That's going to be a tough one. I'd also like to see some scientific evidence about the harmfulness of the light. Honestly. I'm not just kidding here.
But this is not meant to be taken seriously, which is also indicated by the smiley:
How do you know that the air you breathe is not dangerous to your lungs? I would't breathe too much, if I were you.
But then again, if you read anything about the Buteyko method (for asthma) you will see that the above is not just bs. Even if the air was free of pollution.
Well, I think that our eyes squint automatically in the bright light for a reason, and that sunglasses are made for a reason.
See for example, people who got their eyes damaged because they were looking directly at the sun..
The saying that the sun can also be dangerous for us is right, no doubt about it. But the question is- is it dangerous for the eyes in this case?
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Nancy - 08-08-2011
Many vision teacher and authors who have improved their own eyesight recommend getting used to direct sunlight gradually, weaning yourself away from sunglasses completely except perhaps for snow-skiing on a very bright day. Dr. Bates used the sunglass to shine bright light onto people's eyeballs (at the sclera) to help heal them -- sunlight is good for the eyes. If it's very bright outside you can use a hat or visor to cast a shadow on your face and shield your eyes from direct sun, without filtering the rays as sunglasses do.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - hereford_picnic - 08-08-2011
Aquila Wrote:Well, I think that our eyes squint automatically in the bright light for a reason, and that sunglasses are made for a reason.
See for example, people who got their eyes damaged because they were looking directly at the sun..
The saying that the sun can also be dangerous for us is right, no doubt about it. But the qustion is- is it dangerous for the eyes in this case?
There must have been a lot of debate on this before and I'm by no means an expert, but I say that from my own experience the way to react to light is a lot about what a person's state and history is and can it change. I had for several years great annoyance in the morning because of the light that woke me too early and I felt pain even still in the afternoon. That made my life and the life of the people around me a bitch.
But in the end of last year I changed my attitude towards light and I welcomed it. I got used to it really fast. Previously even the light on cloudy days made me annoyed, but now I feel a lot better. I never could've thought such change would be possible. Still if I stay more indoors, it takes some time to adjust to outdoor lighting. But it changes in a day or two if I spend more time outdoors and remember to relax.
I believe (for now) that the light is most harmful if you cannot handle it. But one can adjust to it. This could be the same with sound. I know a person that has very similar reactions with light than a person with tinnitus would have with sound. That's why I think the problem is mostly in the head.
EDIT: Ok, Nancy already said it better
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Sean_Augensicht - 09-08-2011
Use common sense: if a method sounds bizarre and like it's based on some innovative theory, it's probably useless at best.
Instead go back to the principle of relaxation. You squint in bright sunlight for the same reason why you have bad eyesight: you have the habit of adding unnecessary strain. To solve this problem, try flashing the bright blue sky in a direction that's close but not too close to the sun. Cover your eyes with your hands like you're palming until you obtain a degree of relaxation. Then flash the sky for no more than a fraction of a second before covering up your eyes again. At the very moment that you flash the sky, try not to "do" anything with your eye muscles and preserve the same degree of relaxation that you had as when your eyes were covered. (When you flash for no more than a second, you get your eyes used to seeing bright light before you have a chance to tense up too much). When you cover your eyes back up again, you might feel like your muscles were on the verge of tensing up, or maybe that they did tense up a little bit. Notice what your muscles were doing, but don't try to resist or undo whatever it was that you did. Repeat this process for several minutes. If you do this once or twice a day, you'll notice that after a week or two, your eyes are less sensitive to light and your vision is improved.
Get away from your computer, go outside, and demonstrate to yourself that this method works. Unless you've had a week straight of darkly overcast skies like we've had where I live.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - JMartinC4 - 09-08-2011
Sean_Augensicht Wrote:Use common sense: if a method sounds bizarre and like it's based on some innovative theory, it's probably useless at best.....Yes - for instance, the Bates Theory is very bizarre sounding to most people....
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Sean_Augensicht - 09-08-2011
JMartinC4 Wrote:Yes - for instance, the Bates Theory is very bizarre sounding to most people....
That's why we're talking about the Bates METHOD, not Bates THEORY. It's about practicing and doing (or not doing). The difference between Bates and speculative theories is that we don't need theories to let us know that doing one thing makes our sight better and doing another thing makes our sight worse. We experience it immediately. The sooner we stop speculating and start practicing, the sooner our sight improves.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - JMartinC4 - 09-09-2011
Sean_Augensicht Wrote:Yes, for instance, the Bates Methods are very bizarre sounding to most people. So, according to your blow-hard (too strong?) 'eye view' (Augensicht) they should be ignored. H.L.Mencken wrote something like, "Consistency - the hobgoblin of little minds." I wonder what he meant by that?JMartinC4 Wrote:Yes - for instance, the Bates Theory is very bizarre sounding to most people....That's why we're talking about the Bates METHOD, not Bates THEORY. It's about practicing and doing (or not doing). The difference between Bates and speculative theories is that we don't need theories to let us know that doing one thing makes our sight better and doing another thing makes our sight worse. We experience it immediately. The sooner we stop speculating and start practicing, the sooner our sight improves.
Re: Squinting in bright sunlight - Nini - 09-09-2011
I don't think it is necessary to squint in the bright sunlight to avoid any harm for the eyes - in my opinion they are perfectly capable to protect themselves by widening and narrowing the pupil according to the brightness of the light.
I just keep my eyes as relaxed as possible, close my lids a bit more than without sunshine just so that I fell comfortable - and enjoy the sunlight on my eyes and half-closed eye lids, knowing that it is good and not harmful for my eyes.
On the contrary, using sun glasses might be even more dangerous, as they can't filter off all dangerous parts of the sunlight and prevent the eyes from doing so by themselves, because the sunlight becomes so dark through the sun glasses that the pupil reflex won't work to the same extent.