Having grown up in a violent and spiteful family, I got used to my mental and bodily health deteriorating. Things would be falling out of my hands, I would be confused, irate, with bad eyesight, and poor sense of orientation and balance. Naturally, I was shamed for that.
I was 37, three years flying solo when I gleaned the root cause of my many ills — concussion(s). A friend had sent me a video link explaining how to strengthen one's vision, balance one's sleep cycle, that sort of thing. I kept watching related videos until I found one that changed my life completely.
The Youtube video, titled "This simple exercise will improve your vision — Andrew Huberman" revealed that looking into the distance, such as through a window at the horizon, can improve and restore vision. A side note in the video mentioned something similar is done to help people overcome concussions. I was like, huh, I'll try it. Boy, the results were astounding!
I took off my glasses and looked outside for 30 minutes. My eyes tracked swooping and twirling birds, a lazy cat's tail swiping from beneath the bush, people strolling around, and the swaying branches. My vision became sharper and I noticed my vision un-doubled (I sometimes feel my vision doubling up when looking at extremely close things).
After mere 30 minutes, I felt better and more confident in my body. I started shaking off the feeling of shame and inferiority that was clinging on me like a sticky mist.
In case the video got memory-holed, you can listen to the audio version here (8 MB MP3 file).
My next idea was to sit beside a road and watch the cars pass by while trying to read their license plates without glasses. I realized that's actually the advanced version of the optometrist vision test, complete with unique letters, though these ones move.
It would take 10–15 minutes for my eyes to adjust and then WUMP I would see clearly for a fraction of a second and make out a number or letter on a license plate. That gave me immense confidence and hope there is not just a remedy but a total cure for my poor vision.
I would track cars as far as they went, until they disappeared into the horizon. At first, I felt unease and a strong desire to look away but as I persisted, I was able to track a car for up to a minute, not caring about any other distraction. Eventually, I was able to see license plates all the way in the distance, though only as a slightly sharper smudge.
The effects were undeniable and overwhelmingly positive. I noticed less confusion and less disorientation in daily life. For example, when playing Days Gone, I tried orienting myself across the map and to find my bike without using the map, just by using my memory. My willpower became stronger too and I was no longer raging when things didn't work as I intended from the start.
I changed the way I use my phone too. Instead of craning my neck over it, I would put elbows on ribs and hold the phone above the head. When inside the apartment, I would place the phone on the top cupboard shelf, forcing me to look UP when watching something on it. My entire posture benefited from these eye exercises. They truly changed my life for the better.
At times, I would let my eyes drift to a hill overshadowing my city and watch the branches with droves of glittering leaves sway in the wind. If this is possible, then anything is possible.
My explanation why vision seems to matter so much for brain activity is that a large part of brain processing power is related to eyes and vision. If we don't look at varied things and spend most of the day focusing on 20–80cm, the brain gets stunted. But, flexing the eye muscles, as it were, makes the entire brain come to life.
Really, I have no idea if that's the explanation but I'll take it. I don't know how sleep works either, yet I benefit from it every day. I close my eyes, lose consciousness, and wake up refreshed. Do I need to know how it works? It just does, and that's what matters to me.