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Why is my vision so much worse in low light/other questions?

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Why is my vision so much worse in low light/other questions?
#1
Hi haven't posted for a while but been checking regularly.

I haven't always been able to keep up the eye exercises but want to make another fresh go of it, a few Qs, may already have been asked.

Why is my vision so much worse in low light? Here in the UK it gets dark around 4PM and when I'm walking back from work it is a huge struggle to see- everything blurs.

I have been going without contacts/glasses and it is a real struggle to get around without my eyes, I am around a -4 prescription. Any tips?
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#2
It's the pinhole effect; pupil is larger in dark, dim light; more light rays get in the eyes. When the eyes needs vision improvement, those more rays are more unfocused rays in the eye; more blur.

Daytime, bright light, pupil is smaller, less rays in eyes, less blur.
As vision improves; all light rays will focus correct and night vision will also be clear.

What have you been practicing? If no glasses you should be improving. Maybe you are trying too hard. Are you shifting easy, no effort? Do you take a break to get away from practice and just let the eyes function naturally on their own? Forget about the eyes, relax.

How long without the glasses? No contacts; the eye changes shape on its own and also with Bates Method practice as it returns to normal; contacts won't fit well.
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#3
Diminished vision in low light conditions is a common side effect of myopia.
When you were wearing your glasses it would not be all that noticeable,but without them it sometimes becomes a problem for some myopes.
Some myopes even need stronger glasses for driving at night.This is referred to as night myopia.
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#4
Bifocal Wrote:Diminished vision in low light conditions is a common side effect of myopia.
When you were wearing your glasses it would not be all that noticeable,but without them it sometimes becomes a problem for some myopes.

Sometimes? I would say that myopes have more of a problem seeing in dark, or lower light conditions, most, if not all of the time.

Another reason is that myopes just have a strong tendency to strain and stare even more when conditions are less favorable. But I would agree with Mary, and as I have experienced, the more one's vision improves under more favorable conditions, the better one's vision will function under darker conditions. There's no special recipe. It's all the same basic ingredients.
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#5
clarknight Wrote:It's the pinhole effect; pupil is larger in dark, dim light; more light rays get in the eyes. When the eyes needs vision improvement, those more rays are more unfocused rays in the eye; more blur.
The pinhole effect has to do with spherical aberration. Light rays that strike a spherical lens at a greater distance (radius) from the optical axis naturally have a smaller focal length. Myopes already suffer from a short focal length so a large pupil makes it worse. Hyperopes should benefit from it and see better when their pupils are dilated.

Since a bright sunny day produces a pinhole effect, it is almost like cheating our vision because the pinhole effect allows us to see clearly even with strain present in our eyes. Perhaps the most effective time to improve vision is during the night when we are most sensitive to strain.
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#6
lou_deg Wrote:Perhaps the most effective time to improve vision is during the night when we are most sensitive to strain.

As far as reading fine print goes, Bates definitely found the dimmer the light in which it could be read, the greater the benefit. Of course if one cannot see it, read it, at all, then you're not getting benefit, just maintaining the strain. A more gradual reduction in light would probably then be wise.
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#7
arocarty Wrote:As far as reading fine print goes, Bates definitely found the dimmer the light in which it could be read, the greater the benefit.
The textbooks I read don't have fine print, but I would think reading regular print in low lighting could also be beneficial. (But I like bright lighting because it helps keep me awake at night.) I am a part-time grad student and my vision deteriorates...from all the late-night reading and homework...as the semester progresses. In January, I used -1.75D at the start of Spring semester but had to switch to -2.25D at some point in the semester. Then summer break came. In the Fall semester in August I put on my -1.75D glasses and was surprised that the board was nice and clear. But yesterday, 3 months into the semester, I gave in and put on my -2.25D because I was having trouble seeing clearly with the weaker lens. It's hard to keep up good vision with all the stresses we put on our eyes. Hopefully dimming the light can brighten my vision up some.
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#8
lou_deg Wrote:The textbooks I read don't have fine print, but I would think reading regular print in low lighting could also be beneficial. (But I like bright lighting because it helps keep me awake at night.) .... It's hard to keep up good vision with all the stresses we put on our eyes. Hopefully dimming the light can brighten my vision up some.

Hi Lou,
Do you usually wearing lenses when you are reading (close up)? Basically, the larger the text, the easier it is to see it AND still maintain eccentric fixational strain. Not sure if dimming the lights on the regular size text is going to help or hinder. Focusing on the content of your studies and working on vision improvement simultaneously can distract the brain from what you are trying to learn. Give it a try, let us know. Hopefully is doesn't make you don't Zzzzzzz...

In terms of fine print, all that is needed for practice is a small sample of a few lines, even a few letters. Bates typically gave people a business type card that had the Seven Truths of Normal Sight written on it in Diamond type. I practice with something I cut off an Amy's frozen meal box. It has a logo with very fine print encircling it, and a couple words beneath it with two tiny words underneath. (saying 'Certified Organic') I just look at that several minutes a day, as close to the eyes as I can read it, or even closer. It's very small, about 1.25 inches square, and the print is very crisp and dark. All kinds of sharp print reductions can be found in magazines. I just like the one from the box because it's on cardboard, and very durable.

Additionally, have you tried the Huxley slot card? I used to make bunches of them out of dark black card stock, for reading book books, and used the winslot to read on the computer. Takes time to get used to, but it helps mask peripheral text, reduce eccentric strain, encourage foveal reading. And you can use it while studying, without having to direct much attention to anything except what you need to read.

Regards,
Andrew
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#9
This is still confusing me, but why dyou want to practice reading fine print as close to your eyes as possible? Wouldn't you want to practice reading fine print further and further away from your eyes?
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#10
ted Wrote:This is still confusing me, but why dyou want to practice reading fine print as close to your eyes as possible? Wouldn't you want to practice reading fine print further and further away from your eyes?

Because it can help train you to release tension, and relax. The closer it is read, the greater the degree of relaxation that is required. But it is also moved away as well, and read from further distances. You will only be able to see it so far away, though, given the size of it. There are many benefits to this practice, have you read all the articles that Bates wrote about reading fine print, and how it can help myopia, presbyopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism?
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#11
A clarification: We are talking about putting the fine print close to the eyes as in, "so close that it's touching your nose" close? If that's the case, then I think I understand; if not, then I greatly misunderstand.
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#12
Pikachu Wrote:A clarification: We are talking about putting the fine print close to the eyes as in, "so close that it's touching your nose" close? If that's the case, then I think I understand; if not, then I greatly misunderstand.

I've done that too, but not too frequently. In general, I mean starting at a point where it is seen best, most clearly, then gradually moving it closer as one gets better at relaxing while seeing it. That may be 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 inches, whatever, depending on the level of your vision. Bates stated it first had to be held a certain distance, where it couldn't be seen so well if held an inch closer or further away. An interesting fact he found was that, when fine print could be read perfectly, near sightedness disappears completely during that moment, or for however long it can be maintained. As with other techniques, it's essential to avoid staring, and keep blinking and shifting frequently. Stop and palm, or close the eyes if your eyes start to feel very strained.
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#13
I see. I seem to see best or near-best when the fine print is between two and five inches from my eyes. Is that normal? Further out than seven or eight inches and my nearsightedness starts to show. Any closer than a couple of inches and my eyes can't seem to converge enough to prevent double images.
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#14
Pikachu Wrote:I see. I seem to see best or near-best when the fine print is between two and five inches from my eyes. Is that normal? Further out than seven or eight inches and my nearsightedness starts to show. Any closer than a couple of inches and my eyes can't seem to converge enough to prevent double images.

Sounds about right, for someone given your level of refr. error.
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#15
Quote:.... It has a logo with very fine print encircling it, and a couple words beneath it with two tiny words underneath. (saying 'Certified Organic') I just look at that several minutes a day, as close to the eyes as I can read it, or even closer.

I finally realized that I can't totally see that clearly as I get the fine print super close to my eyes. I was kinda shocked, like, wait its starting to blur at a close a range as well! Just for clarification, the only reason to use fine print rather than larger print or something like your finger is that with fine print you can gauge how the vision is changing easier. Is that correct?

When reading fine print at a distance, there comes a point, or a distance, at which you cannot read or see the words unless you start doing something right/different with your eyes. Does this make sense? By doing something with your eyes, I think I mean that for me to make out the word, I have to get specific and narrow down my vision, instead of scanning the text with a large field of vision, I make my focus a smaller area and look at a certain letter on the word that I'm trying to make out. Or even the pieces of letters of a word that I'm trying to make out. What do y'all think about this? Also, this distance seems to change frequently as I can find myself moving the text or my face closer and further away depending on how well I can see. The idea being that I'm trying to constantly challenge my eyes and, as improvements take place,. push the text a little further away. Or, if i need to, bring the text in to where I can barely make out what I'm reading, and then push it further away again. There's a very specific range there that I'm talking about. And I think it's similar to this idea we are discussing of putting the fine print super close to your eyes until it blurs and experimenting around that certain range.

It's not so much "practicing exercises" as it is experimenting with techniques and noticing what happens, and noticing what improves eyesight and relaxes, it seems.
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