When somebody has a hard time reading something, I always see them squinting to see it. As someone who wears glasses, I'm sure I do it myself. I was just wondering if squinting actually helps a person's vision and, if it does, why does it help?
2007-11-11 07:33:51 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Optical
the pinhole effect: you're eliminating paraxial light rays. it works for MOST rx's. a known optical phenomenon.
posted by jt:
"squinting puts pressure on various parts of the eyeball and temporarily improves vision"
no, squinting DOES NOT change the shape of the globe or put pressure on anything. squinting w/o touching your eye with your hand ONLY affects light rays, not globe shape. sorry.
2007-11-12 03:49:32 · answer #1 · answered by princeidoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure if it does. Most people squint when they're confused. When you can't read it you get confused.
It does seem to help a bit, though. Just like pulling on the edges of your eyelids (even though it twists a bit) makes some areas easier to see. Squinting isn't good for your eyes, though, and leads to headaches. Sorry I don't know more about it.
2007-11-11 07:43:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it can. The explanation is rather technical, but simply put as possible, squinting puts pressure on various parts of the eyeball and temporarily improves vision. It can also change the amount of light refracted (sent) into the eye.
In fact, one sign of myopia (nearsightedness; inability to see things farther away) is that vision improves when squinting.
I am myopic. I have 20-100 vision, which means that a line of print (such as on a billboard) that most people can read at 20 feet, I have to be 20 feet away to read. Fortunately, my eyeglasses correct my vision to 20/40.
2007-11-11 07:44:59 · answer #3 · answered by july 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm severely nearsighted and squinting doesn't really help me all that much. It definitely doesn't help me to see inch high numbers on an alarm clock that's only about six feet away from me when I first wake up in the morning. I have to put my glasses on or move closer to read them.
2007-11-11 19:24:19 · answer #4 · answered by RoVale 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you squint, the contractions of the muscles change the shape of the eyeball and lens which changes your vision temporarily.
2007-11-11 07:41:09 · answer #5 · answered by loclemons 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋