Writer (Vishen Lakhiani)

I’m writing this because too many of my friends have come to me to secretly let me know that they have been concerned about their deteriorating eyesight. But that they dread the thought of wearing glasses.

When I tell them that I healed my eyesight in 2 weeks from 20/40 to 20/25 (that’s two lines improvement on a standard eye chart) many of them asked for my secret.

So if you’ve ever wondered how to improve eyesight naturally — this advice is for you.

My Personal Experiences With Vision Correction

I had my first lasik correction in 2004. It was near miraculous. I was 28 years old and had been wearing glasses since I was 9. My short sightedness (also called myopia) was -7.00 — which was considered insanely high. I could not recognize a face 3 feet in front of me.

Yet, within 48 hours of my lasik surgery I was functioning without glasses. But surgeries sometimes go wrong and a botched procedure in my left eye left me with mild astigmatism. I continued without glasses for the next 12 years but in 2016 during a trip to Sydney with my family I realized I could not see details on the Sydney Opera House that my son was pointing out to me.

I went to an ophthalmologist only to find that age and poor reading and writing habits had caused my eyesight to deteriorate to the point where I needed glasses again. I was testing at 20/40 on the eye chart and now had developed astigmatism and mild nearsightedness in both eyes.

My 12 year run without glasses had come to an end.

Problem is — my old friend lasik was no longer available to me. As a man in my 40s I was warned by the doctor that lasik for a second time would be too risky.

So I started my life once again with glasses.

Dave Asprey And Vision Coaching

But the thing is: glasses were a major inconvenience to me.

And I had heard from my friend Dave Asprey that he had successfully learned how to improve eyesight naturally and overcome the need for glasses. It intrigued me.

Dave is the famous bio-hacker behind Bulletproof Coffee. Working with an eye coach he trained with intense eye exercises for 1 hour every week for 12 weeks. By the end of that time period he no longer needed glasses.

I decided to give it a go. I signed up for online courses on vision correction. I interviewed and then hired a vision coach.

I was shocked at how fast I was able to train my brain to correct my short nearsightedness. In 2 weeks of training for 15 minutes a day went from 20/40 to 20/25. Not perfect — but it meant I did not need glasses for day to day activities. I sometimes went for weeks without ever putting them on. My spectacle usage went from 40% of the time to 4% of the time.

I’m still experimenting. But I’m now on my third set of lenses and my lenses have been getting thinner and thinner each time.

So how can you replicate this? This is what I know. Keep in mind I’m still in the midst of my research. I’m still experimenting.

But if you’re looking to:

• Prevent bad eyesight developing in your kids
• Learn how to improve eyesight naturally
• Prevent the onset of age related vision problems like farsightedness
• Reduce your need for glasses

Here’s what you need to know.

1. First, The Right And Wrong Way To Test Your Vision

The first big mistake people make it that they test their vision at a store selling eye glasses. Do NOT do this. Any store that sells glasses will be incentivised to SELL you glasses.

I tested my eyes at an eyeglass shop AND at a proper medical clinic. The results that came back were vastly different.

The eyeglass shop and it’s simplistic vision testing machine showed a reading vastly different from my medical doctor.

They prescribed to me glasses that were far too strong for what I needed. Their test was also a 12 mins procedure. At a proper clinic, I spent 45 mins getting my vision tested.

I BELIEVE EYEGLASS STORES HAVE NO BUSINESS TESTING PEOPLE’S VISION.

If your vision is less than -1.00 myopia you should NOT jump to glasses. The right eye exercises can heal your vision rapidly. My improvement was -0.75 to -0.25 in 2 weeks. But if you test your eyesight in an eyeglass store you’re going to be pressured to buy a pair of glasses.

So test your eyesight with your doctor. If you’re found to need glasses, then go to an eyeglass store with your doctor’s prescription.

One more tip. Your vision can vary from week to week. Stress, for example, can cause your vision to test more poorly than normal. So go for your eye test during a time when you’re fairly well rested — such as during the weekend or after a vacation.

2. Get Glasses One Increment Down From Your Actual Vision

Vision therapists I’ve spoken to agree that you should get spectacles that are approximately 0.25 BELOW your tested vision.

Eyeglasses are like a crutch. You don’t want to get used to them because if you do, you will need them more and more. And you’ll see your vision deteriorate accordingly. I started out with -2.50 when I was 9. By the time I was 16 I was at -7.00.

Here’s what you need to know.

Short Sightedness and Farsightedness are measured in Diopters.

Lens powers that correct myopia are preceded by a minus sign (–), and are usually measured in 0.25 D increments.

For example, the severity of nearsightedness is often categorized like this:

1. Mild myopia: -0.25 to -3.00 D
2. Moderate myopia: -3.25 to -6.00 D
3. High myopia: greater than -6.00 D

So if you’re diagnosed with 1.00 myopia. Do not get a -1.00 lens. Rather get a lens -0.75 (one increment down). With the right exercises, you’ll be able to rapidly improve your vision.

So always get lenses one increment lower than your current power. This prevents eyeglasses from becoming a crutch and causing your vision to deteriorate. It gives you room to improve your vision.

As soon as your vision catches up, get a new set of lenses one step down. And so on. Using this approach I got my myopia down from -0.75 to -0.25 in my right eye.

3. Test Your Vision At Home Once A Week

William Horatio Bates, M.D. (1860–1931) who popularized an early but highly inefficient form of vision correction therapy called the Bates Method once did a study in classrooms. Bates would hang an eye chart in classrooms and get the teacher to make the students do a simple vision test for a minute or so daily.

At the beginning of that period 6% of the children were nearsighted. By the end of the year only 1 % was nearsighted.
Because of this success in one school, the system of using an eye chart was introduced into all the schools of Grand

Forks, North Dakota, where Bates worked. These schools used charts continuously for 8 years, with as many as 2,000 school children.

But there was an unexpected result. The kids actually began to see better than normal. Children who already had normal sight, 20/20, became able to read 20/15 or 20/10. This was regardless of the light conditions in the room.

Now, imagine if every school did this?

Adults should do the same. Hang an eye chart on your wall. And test your vision periodically. Once a day is perfect.

But once a week works too. Doing so can help prevent your eyesight from deteriorating.

You can find eye charts that you can download and print by Googling for “download eye chart”

4. Hire A Vision Coach Or Take An Online Vision Course

I’ve been experimenting with vision programs and vision coaches. The results have been promising. But I can’t recommend a specific program for you yet.

Anything I recommend in the personal growth field blows up. Whether it’s Wildfit or 40 Years of Zen, my recommendation can make or break a business. And due to the faith you guys place in me I will not recommend anything unless I have done my research, tested it out, and can solidly give it a big thumbs up.

There are many amazing vision correction programs out there. This whole industry is going to boom. And I don’t want to give an unfair edge to any one player because that means giving a disadvantage to others. So until I complete my own research you’ll need to dig on the internet to find a vision coach or vision correction course that’s right for you.

But one tip. The Bates Method continues to be popular. But it’s one of the slowest and least effective methods. William Bates died in 1931 and his work has not advanced much. Vision improvement research has gone way past Bates early discoveries and modern courses offer so much more. While I value Bates and his classic 1920 book Better Vision without Glasses, the whole field has advanced a lot and more modern methods get better results.

So avoid the popular, but archaic Bates Method.

I hope these tips helped.

I’d love to hear your experiences and results with vision improvement. Have you improved your vision? Leave a comment below to share what worked for you.