Dr. Bryce Appelbaum, featured on Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s podcast Feel Better, Live More (Episode 576), shares how vision is not just about the eyes themselves, but about how the brain processes what we see. He has developed a programme that retrains this eye-to-brain connection, showing that vision can actually improve with regular practice.

Better and more balanced vision can support focus, concentration, and even emotional regulation. This is especially relevant today, where young eyes are spending increasing amounts of time on screens. Dr. Appelbaum recommends intentional visual exercises to rest and reset the eyes, offering a powerful tool for protecting long-term eye health and supporting cognitive performance.

Here are a few tips with exercises we already practice with children in our Yoga Clubs in schools:

– taking breaks to look at least 10 meters away for 3-5 breaths
– focusing close then away then close again
– raise your arm with a thumb up and keep focusing on your thumb whilst moving in close and with clear vision
– practice zooming out to include peripheral vision with the gaze pointed at a far object.
– practice eyes movements all the way up, down, sides and diagonals whilst keeping your head fixed.
– cup your hands over your eyes and watch the darkness for 3-5 breaths

In a call out to Headteachers, they both warned of screens impact on pupils.
Whats more with the amount of brain output dedicated to vision processing, using the eye sensory organ as a tool to pacify the nervous system could actually be as effective as yogic breath practice.

Andrew Huberman, a Stanford Neuroscientist and Professor, is also a specialist in this area and speaks about the brain-eye connection in his podcast ‘Huberman Lab'