What is Reduced Lens Method: Does it Improve Vision?

I’ve been doing lens reduction for quite some time now and I have gathered some experience and research papers that can be of use in order for this method to work. This is because a reduced lens is quite a complicated method that is hard to do if you have no idea what is going on. So I want to share how this method works, its mechanism, and the research studies. Here is a simple and direct-to-the-point explanation of what the reduced lens method is.

Reduced lens method is a vision improvement therapy where you slightly decrease your prescription to improve your vision. This is because, in this method, you are using a slightly lower prescription. Objects will become a little blurry, causing you to force yourself to make images clear. Some research papers show it works, some not. This is because some don’t do the method the right way.

If the method on how you do it is important, we have to find out what the reduced lens method really is, how it works for vision improvement, and how to do it properly. That way, we will know how to do it properly and use the method to our advantage.

This is a video guide on Reduced Lens Therapy. For a full tutorial on print pushing and active focusing, feel free to visit this blog post: How I cured my Myopia

What is Reduced Lens Method

Reduced lens is a method in improving vision that under corrects the prescription on purpose. By doing this, images appear to be slightly blurry compared to when using a full prescription. This signals your brain that it needs to see more clearly, causing the vision to improve by hormesis.

The reduced lens works by giving a little stress to our eyes which in turn makes it stronger.

It is like doing exercise in a gym which strengthens our muscles. In the same manner, tiny stress strengthens our eyes.

This is called Hormesis. A scientific term where tiny stress given to a certain organism makes it stronger.

Hormesis is a widely documented phenomenon in science and it is a promising research.

One of which is a study that went more in-depth researching hormesis.

A study published in the Ageing Research Reviews made an in-depth analysis and was found out that it is an effective method in making our body strong. In fact, it is now being studied as an effective anti-aging treatment.

With reduced lens, it is a form of hormesis. This is because you are forcing your eyes to be clearer. This involved actively focusing on objects and texts.

Source: Mattson, Mark P. “Hormesis Defined.” Ageing Research Reviews, vol. 7, no. 1, 2008, pp. 1–7. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.arr.2007.08.007.

Does Reduced Lens Method Work?

The reduced lens method works if done properly. In fact, it is an effective way in improving vision naturally. A reduced lens is an effective, safe, and cost-efficient way in natural vision improvement. However, you need to do it correctly to see results.

The reduced lens method works by underprescribing lenses in an individual. This causes them to see things slightly blurry, making their eyes work more in order to focus on objects. By doing this, over time, their eyesight improves because it indirectly tells the eyes that it needs to get better by using a concept known as hormesis.

Hormesis has been a widely accepted term in science and it has been linked to numerous benefits in our bodies.

It affects everything from our brain when we always use it, we get smarter. When we always use our muscles it gets bigger.

Same with our eyes, the more we actively focus, it gets stronger and sees clearer.

Doing this over time makes our eyes stronger. Thus, it improves vision.

But how do we correctly do Reduced Lens Method? Let’s find out in the next section of this article.

How to do Reduced Lens Method

Reduced lens method is simple and can be done in simple steps. Here they are:

  1. Measure Your Eye Grade or Get an Eye Checkup
  2. Now get your eye prescription and lessen it by -0.25 or -0.50 diopters.
  3. Use your eyeglasses on looking at things far away
  4. Objects will become blurry because of the reduced prescription
  5. Try to focus until texts and objects far away will become clearer
  6. Make this focusing a habit

As you can see, it might be quite confusing to do but here is a tool to make it easier: Myopia Calculator

Measure Your Eye grade or Get an Eye Check-up

Measuring your eye grade is important since it will be the basis of lens reduction. This can be done by getting a proper eye checkup which will give an accurate result.

Also, it can be done at home for free with the myopia tool this website has provided. It also has a video tutorial so it can be easily followed.

Get your Eye Prescription and Lessen it by -0.25 or -0.50 diopters

The next step is to lower the results. For example, if your result is -3.25, you can start at -3.00 or -2.75.

Lessening -0.25 is better than -0.50 but both will definitely work.

This step can also be done instantly using the myopia calculator.

Use your eyeglasses on looking at things far away

Now it is time to use the glasses. Remember to use it when looking at things that are far away. This is because, at lower prescription, objects will start to get a little blurry which is the time to focus on texts and objects.

Objects will become blurry because of the reduced prescription

This is the perfect time to do active focusing. Remember this.

There is a study reported from Clinical and Experimental Optometry where they studied the under-correction which is what is being done with lens reduction therapy.

In the study, the result is quite confusing.

In a study, myopia progression slowed down with lens reduction. However, it is the opposite in another study they found.

So this means that Lens reduction can make our eyesight better or worse. It depends on how you use it.

How does this happen?

This is because lens reduction alone is not enough.

But to explain it in an easy way, reduced lens therapy alone is not enough. You need to combine it with active focusing in order to make it work for you.

Using lens reduction without active focusing will, in fact, make things worse.

This is called Blur Adaptation.

Blur adaptation is basically because your eyes always see blurry objects, it will start thinking that seeing things that are blurry is the right thing to do.

This causes problems because your eyes will think they are doing a good job when in fact, it is the opposite.

So here is the summary in making lens reduction work for you: Always do it with active focusing.

Make this focusing a habit

Remember that it is important to turn this into a habit. If you don’t always do active focusing with lens reduction, it might lead to blur adaptation.

This is also the reason why completely removing your glasses is a bad idea. Not only it gives too much stress to your eyes causing discomfort, it also makes things worse.

Remember the difference: Hormesis is putting a little stress. Not giving a lot which removing glasses do.

Source: Logan, Nicola S., and James S. Wolffsohn. “Role of Un‐correction, Under‐correction and Over‐correction of Myopia as a Strategy for Slowing Myopic Progression.” Clinical and Experimental Optometry, vol. 103, no. 2, 2020, pp. 133–37. Crossref, doi:10.1111/cxo.12978.

Can I Lower my Glass Prescription?

It is possible to lower glass prescription if you are experiencing eye strain. This includes headaches, dizziness, and many more. If you experience this, you can ask your optometrist to lower your prescription. In fact, most encourage lowering of prescription if it is uncomfortable to the patient.

Usually, the cause of this is overprescription. Remember that your eye grade is checked in an environment that is dark and you are forced to see a small text in front.

This turns our eyesight to 20/20 at dark. But remember that our eyes see better in well-lit conditions.

Upon using the glasses in a well-lit environment, it is a different story, you might be overprescribed and it may cause eye strain leading to symptoms of discomfort.

And as you can see in this article, under-prescription or lens reduction is better. Just ask for a lower prescription especially if you are experiencing discomfort with your new glasses.

Your eyes are experiencing pain for a reason.

How can I Reduce my Eye Lens Number?

You can ask your optometrist to reduce your eye lens strength. It is fine to reduce lens number especially if you are experiencing discomfort with your new pair of glasses. Optometrists will ask you if it is uncomfortable and most of them will reduce the prescription if it is. Moreover, reduction of lens strength or under-prescription can be a method to improve your eyesight.

I remember when I was on my optometrist getting an eye exam, they asked if everything is okay and I feel comfortable.

When I said that I get dizzy, she did not hesitate in reducing my prescription because comfort is more important as she said.

And I agree. If you get strain with your new pair, it is perfectly fine to ask for a reduced lens.

Also, remember that reduced lens therapy in vision improvement is a thing.

Only the things I love

ongjason.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on the site, I earn an affiliate commission.

I believe that tools are essential, especially in improving our lifestyle. Because I am a minimalist, I only buy things that add value to my life.

In this part, I will give you the tools I use for improving my eyesight.

Myopia Calculator

First, let’s start with something free. The Myopia Calculator is something I’ve personally made for my viewers.

Go to the Myopia Calculator I’ve coded, which will give you the details you need to start print pushing and active focusing.

I also have video instructions in that blog post, making it easier to use the tool.

Active Focusing Full Course!

So you want to do active focusing but don’t know how? I got you covered with a completely free course!

You can visit the course here: Improve Eyesight Fast: Full tutorial with Proof.

My Story

Alright, who am I giving tips on how to reduce your eye grade? What’s my story?

You can find my whole story here: How I reduced my Myopia

YouTube

Another free tool where you can learn more about eyesight is on YouTube.

While I do not make eyesight videos anymore, many YouTubers are out there that teach how to reduce your eyesight.

However, I am not one of them.

Of course, if you want to follow me, you can find my Channel by clicking the button below.

Tape Measure

Have a suitable measuring device. I don’t recommend cloth or simple tape measures since you must always stretch it hard when measuring.

Get a simple heavy-duty tape measure since you need to pull it out. You can also see that I’m using this measuring device in my videos.

Blue Light Glasses

Okay, one of the things you will learn from me is that preventing eye strain means getting enough sleep. Guess what? Blue light affects our sleep a lot.

That’s why I recommend wearing Blue Light Glasses at night about 2 hours before bedtime. That way, you will be sleepy enough and have a good night of sleep.

I use a yellow-colored one since it blocks the majority of blue light.

Reading Glasses/ Positive Lens

A quick warning. Do not use a positive lens if your eye grade is more than -2.00. You do not need one if your eye grade is still high.

But always get a good quality pair of these glasses since low-quality pair of positive lenses might not be very accurate.

Furthermore, some of these cheap pairs are not optical grade, which means their surface is not smooth. Non-optical grade glasses confuse the eyes.

If you are in the last stages of print pushing (-2.00 below), don’t waste your efforts by having a low-quality positive lens.

While there is a simple test for checking positive lens quality, it would be better to ensure that you have a high-quality lens.

So I recommend this positive lens which is lightweight, scratch-resistant, and accurate.

Negative Lens/ Myopia Glasses

This is one of the problems of most of my viewers; however, I’m sorry, but as of this time, I can’t give you recommendations on where to buy a pair online.

I am just lucky to befriend an optometrist who helped me get the grade I want. Let’s see in the future if I find anyone that would offer to help us get one online.

Of course, I will check their quality myself before recommending anything.

If you know someone who can help the community, go to my contact page and email me.

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