Have you ever wondered why squinting, or partly closing your eyes, helps you see things more clearly? According to science, it’s because the act of doing so actually changes the shape of your eyes ever so slightly – just enough to allow the light entering your eyes to focus correctly on your retina. [1] The retina is an area at the back of your eyeball responsible for converting light into electric signals, which the optic nerve then sends to your brain to translate into images. [2]
When light enters your eye, it passes through your eye lens, which helps focus the light on your retina. There, specialized cells detect this light and convert it into signals for your brain to interpret. But some factors, like age, can affect how your eyes function and make it harder to focus light on your retina. Some eyes also have a slightly longer distance from front to back, which could make light not focus correctly.
By changing the shape of your eye just a little by squinting, you can help your eyes focus light more precisely. Squinting also helps improve visual clarity for people whose eye lenses are misshapen because of age or damage. When the lens of your eye is misshapen, light rays passing through it travel far from the center of your lens, making them more difficult to focus on your retina. This causes blurry vision.
Squinting helps improve your vision by limiting the amount of light that enter your eyes. Because this allows light rays to pass closer to the center of your eye lens, it helps produce a clearer image. But while squinting helps you see things much better, it’s impractical and uncomfortable to squint all the time. It could also give you a headache as it involves contraction of the muscles of your face. [3]
Fortunately, there’s a device that you can wear that mimics what squinting does for eyes. Known as pinhole glasses, this inexpensive device has been around for centuries, with the earliest example ever found believed to be 1,000 years old or older! [4] According to a 1932 article published in the Australasian Journal of Optometry, earlier versions of pinhole glasses were once used by eye doctors as part of visual therapy. [5]
What are Pinhole Glasses and what do they do?
The first pinhole glasses, or stenopeic glasses, were invented in the early 1600s. These spectacles were made with a horizontally running line of small openings and were designed for people who obtain no benefit from wearing ground glasses. The idea behind pinhole glasses is said to have come from the Eskimos, who use a piece of wood or bone bored with holes or slits to protect their eyes from the glare of the sun or the cold wind.
But as early as the 6th century A.D., innovative thinkers have been exploring the potential of using pinhole glasses to help with visual problems. It wasn’t until 1934 that this device, then called “lensless spectacles,” was first patented in the United States. Pinhole glasses were registered as a device for having opaque discs whose surfaces were covered by a series of circular holes for lenses. [6]
Today, pinhole glasses are pretty much the same, except that they are made of black plastic lenses filled with pinhole-sized perforations separated by a fixed distance (usually 3 millimeters). Eye care specialists often use them as a diagnostic tool to quickly determine if refractive error, which can easily be corrected, is behind a person’s reduced vision. When a person’s visual acuity, which is a measure of the eyes’ ability to distinguish shapes and details at a given distance, is not 20/20 despite wearing pinhole glasses, it tells specialists that the problem may be caused by an underlying medical condition. [7][8]
It’s important to note that pinhole glasses work differently from normal glasses and contact lenses. The latter two work by refracting light rays to make them converge on the center of the retina. People with vision impairments will benefit from using these devices if their visual problems stem from the fact that the rays of light entering their eyes converge either behind or in front of their retina. [9]
In contrast, the way pinhole glasses work is often likened to squinting because they reduce the number of light rays that enter your pupils, which are the round, dark openings in the middle of the colored part of your eyes. [10] Dubbed the “pinhole effect,” this helps prevent unfocused rays of light from hitting your eye and causing blurry vision. Pinhole glasses thus help provide visual clarity by reducing the field of the “blur circle” at the rear of your retina.
In optics, the blur circle is defined as an unfocused virtual image of an object at a given distance. Optometrists use this term to refer to the retinal impression of a point in space that appears as a kind of reflecting, dilated spot with blurred lines. According to researchers, the smaller the blur circles, the better the transfer of contrast sensitivity, which means the sharper and clearer the image you’ll be able to see. [11]
Aside from eliminating the scattering of light to the retina, researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany also reported that wearing pinhole glasses can support your eye’s normal depth of focus so that even when the eye is not correctly focused, objects nearby or far away still appear as if in focus. [12][13]
In another study from the Philippines, researchers looked at the effect of wearing pinhole glasses on the reading performance of students with refractive errors. [14] They reported that there was no significant difference between wearing normal corrective glasses and wearing pinhole glasses in terms of reading duration and accuracy among the participants. This finding suggests that pinhole glasses can help effectively support healthy eye function.
In addition to supporting visual acuity, wearing pinhole glasses can also help your eyes maintain a healthy shape by training your eye muscles. [15] Looking through pinholes is said to be a great exercise for your eyes’ ciliary muscles, which are small, circular muscles that control the shape of your eye lens. These muscles are also important for moving your eyes. [16] Exercising your ciliary muscles is an excellent way to support optimal eye fitness and vision because it helps your eyes maintain their normal ability to focus properly. [17]
According to research, your eyes constantly focus and refocus while you’re using your computer. This constant movement can easily strain and tire your eyes. You are also more likely to blink less when staring at a digital screen, which can leave your eyes dry. [18] Because pinhole glasses help your eyes focus, wearing them while using your computer allows your eyes to relax, thus reducing eye strain. [19] Pinhole glasses can also help reduce the glare from digital screens since they limit the amount of light that enters your eyes. [20]
To recap, here are the benefits of wearing Pinhole Glasses for your eyes:*
- Supports optimal eye fitness
- Supports normal visual acuity
- Provides great exercise for your eyes
- Helps reduce eye strain
- Helps reduce glare from digital screens
Where to get Pinhole Glasses that are registered with the FDA
Like the other muscles in your body, your eye muscles need regular exercise to maintain optimal health and function. But we tend to neglect this and strain our eyes by staring at digital screens for long periods every day. Because of this, many people today suffer from poor eyesight. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to support healthy vision naturally.
Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Sports Style and Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Aviator Style are high-quality, non-prescription glasses that can help exercise targeted eye muscles to support optimal eye function and fitness. Exercising these focusing muscles is important for maintaining healthy vision and benefits these muscles the same way strength training exercises strengthen your skeletal muscles.
Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Sports Style and Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Aviator Style feature thick pinhole panels that stay firmly in place, as well as sturdy metal hinges and durable frames. Our pinhole glasses help prevent unfocused rays of light from hitting your eye, which causes blurry vision. By limiting the number of light rays that enter your pupils, pinhole glasses can help your eyes focus light precisely on retina, which helps you see things more clearly.
Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Sports Style and Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses Aviator Style cost only a fraction of the price of other vision solutions. They are also registered as medical devices with the FDA. Wear pinhole glasses a few minutes every day and gradually work your way up to one hour a day. Note that pinhole glasses should not be used while driving, operating heavy machinery or doing activities that require your full attention.
Support optimal eye fitness and visual acuity naturally with Groovy Bee® Pinhole Glasses!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose any diseases.
References
[1] https://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/
[2] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/
[3] https://www.inglewoodoptometry.com/
[4] https://www.optica-opn.org/opn/media/Images/
[5] https://www.tandfonline.com/
[6] https://youthays.wordpress.com/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
[8] https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/
[9] https://www.visiondirect.com.au/
[10] https://www.allaboutvision.com/
[11] https://www.healio.com/news/
[12] https://web.phys.ksu.edu/
[13] https://www.surveyophthalmol.com/
[15] https://www.vitacost.com/
[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
[17] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/
[18] https://my.clevelandclinic.org
[19] https://www.visioncenter.org/
