While there are many rumours surrounding the idea that eye exercises will make your prescription glasses redundant, such suggestions are a dangerous myth.  

Eye exercises can help improve your eye health, they can also help your two eyes work better together. However they will not correct eye conditions such as short-sightedness (myopia), long-sightedness (hyperopia) or astigmatism. They will also do nothing for glaucoma or macular degeneration.If practised carefully and regularly, eye exercises may be able to help delay the onset of some conditions for some people.

Anyone can practise exercising their eyes, whether you already have an existing condition or have no vision problems at all. Each of these exercises aims to make the eye muscles more flexible and they are usually used as a way to improve focusing issues or conditions such as a lazy eye.

The 'tromboning' method involves holding an object, such as a pen, at arms-length in front of your face and focusing on a point of it. Then slowly move the object to your nose, always focusing on the same point, and return the object to a full length away again.Another popular exercise is known as 'figure eight'. Imagine a sideways figure 8 in front of you and lead your eyes around the track slowly and carefully, then track back the other way. Repeat for a few minutes.

'Near and far focusing' can also help to improve the flexibility of your eye muscles. Place something in front of your eyes (a finger will do) and focus on it, then switch your focus to a distant object across the room.

These exercises won't mean you don't have to wear prescription glasses, but they can help to improve the flexibility in your eyes, and may be especially useful for those people who spend a lot of time in front of computer screens at work.