Re: Eye Exercises (Bates Method)
I think I was in my earliy thirties when I improved my vision.
Actually, I didn't get glasses before I was 17 (after several years of lots of reading and studying). I maxed out at ... around -1.5/-1.25, and went down to -.75/-.50, that is, right/left eye. My right eye has always been slightly worse than the left.
It is really about habits. I didn't use the reading glasses much for a while, and I still do a lot of near work. I have kept my vision under control, and at least I seldom wear glasses when not needed. I really shouldn't wear them when flying either, for the sake of the eyes, but for the horizon scan of that odd traffic without transponder (hmmm) that one is supposed to do all the time. Who does that anyway, and even with 20/20, you won't see them in time anyway, unless they are making contrails.
Forget the packages you can buy. There are lots of people, especially Americans who will write books and sell packages for/against anything! All you need is a pair of cheap reading glasses (now I am talking nearsighted), maybe in different strengths. What you want to do is have anything from +1 to +3 more than your prescription, depending on how near you are working. Are you reading a lot, or sitting with your face glued to your laptop at a foots distance or so, go for around +2. If you are around -2, that means just keep your glasses off. If you are -5, buy a pair of +2s and wear when you have contacts on, or get glasses that are +2 more than your normal subscription.
The worst you can do for your eyes is wear your normal glasses and do real near work for a long time. That is just winding up the tension further => stronger glasses next time you get a test.
A bit complicated, but to sum it up, the optimal solution for training your eyes would be a pair of adaptive glasses that adjusted the strength depending on where you look! Unrealistic (at the moment), but they would function just the way the autofocus works in most cameras. For a more realistic solution, glasses with a gradient strength couold be used, but it is very important they do not become crutches for your eyes, but just the opposite.