Bad Eyesight Can Be Beaten

ps Natural Vision Improvement markets itself as a lifestyle method of improving eyesight by wholistic means

Bad Eyesight

How he beat it: Optical calisthenics

Twenty-six-year-old Orlin Sorensen dreamed of flying combat missions like his grandfather, but his 20/80 eyesight kept him below standards for naval flight training (20/30, no glasses or surgeries allowed). Commercial airlines, however, aren’t as strict—for several years, Sorensen flew for Horizon Air while wearing glasses. Then came September 11, leaving the airline industry decimated and Sorensen flying a lot less. “I was bummed, but I decided to try to turn my life around,” he says.

Rebuild YOUR Vision

He used the time to put a curiosity to the test:

Can a man improve his vision by “exercising” his eyes? Inspired by World War II fighter pilots who used vision-training exercises, and by a 1920 book by Dr. William Bates (The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses), Sorensen stockpiled information until he had enough exercises to begin his own program. “I trained my eyes to do things they don’t normally do,” Sorensen says. “I treated the program like physical exercise.”

He “worked out” 25 minutes a day, 6 days a week, for 30 days, doing exercises like slowly rolling his eyes in a full circle. The results? The navy measured his vision at 20/30, he no longer needs glasses, and he’s been accepted for pilot training.

Make it work for you: Improving your sight by retraining your eye muscles is “very doable,” says William Moskowitz, F.C.O.V.D., an optometrist who has helped scores of patients with vision training at the Park Vision Therapy Center in Bridgewater, New Jersey. But since different vision problems require different programs, Dr. Moskowitz recommends you consult a behavioral optometrist. After you’re matched up with the right program, the follow-through is up to you—you have to do the exercises every day.
– Men’s Health Magazine®
February 2003

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