“The normal eye when it has normal sight rests very frequently by closing the eyes for longer or shorter periods, and when practiced quickly it is called BLINKING.”
– William H. Bates, M.D.
The Habits of Natural Vision: Breathe, Blink, Shift
In a previous post, I introduced the Habits of Natural Vision, that naturally release strain and improve eyesight. As I mentioned in that post, I first learned about the Bates method over 20 years ago from the book “Relearning To See: Improve Your Eyesight Naturally!” by Thomas R. Quackenbush.
In his book, Quackenbush lists these “Three Habits of Natural Vision” as “Breathing, Blinking and Shifting.”
And, in that previous post, I also mentioned that these Habits of Natural Vision allow you to effortlessly experience normal eyesight because they follow the Principles of Natural Vision: Relaxation, Movement, Central Fixation, Imagination and Memory.
Also, in that same previous post, I talked more about The First Habit of Natural Vision: Breathing.
My previous post on The First Habit of Natural Vision: Breathing.
In this post, let’s look at the second Habit of Natural Vision: BLINKING.
Like breathing, blinking is a natural, normal, automatic vision habit. As with breathing, you don’t have to think about. It just happens. We naturally blink as needed. And for normal eyesight, adequate blinking is needed.
Blinking does many things. It keeps the surface of your eyes nice and moist. It helps to spread the tears that wash away dust and debris. And, blinking is relaxing, because It keeps your eyes moving. It prevents the strain of staring. In fact, it’s just about impossible to stare if you are frequently blinking. This is because, with each instantaneous closing and reopening of the eyelids, the eye shifts it’s aim to a different point. The muscles of the eye aren’t held still long enough to stare and strain.
We take it for granted that we are blinking.
Do you think about blinking? Probably not, unless there’s a problem. Many years ago I had a friend who had Bell’s palsy, with paralysis in the facial muscles on one side of his face. He was unable to blink his left eye. Throughout the day, he had to manually close his eyelid regularly. And at night, sleep with his eyelid taped shut. It made apparent the importance of the automatic habit of blinking.
Do you blink enough?
How often do you blink? If your eyesight is not normal, probably not enough. Similar to breathing, blinking slows down the more we feel stressed. When we feel stressed, our breathing slows down. We may even hold our breath. And, when we feel stressed, our blinking slows down. It may even nearly stop. This is staring. This is a strain, and lowers your vision.