Do pinhole glasses really work? In-depth review.
Two years back I bought a pinhole glass from Amazon. Before that, I used to wear spectacles of power -2.75 and -3.25 in the left and right eye, respectively.
Based on my experience with pinhole glasses after wearing them for 1.6+ years, it works! But it is a tedious process that involved changing spectacles regularly, exercising eyes twice a day, taking a properly nutritious diet, consistent resting periods.
How is a pinhole glass made?
The standard pinhole glasses have holes with a diameter of 1 mm with a minimum of 104 holes on each side. But these are few glasses that have a pinhole in one straight line like the Nakagawa method eye mask. They made the lens material in hard plastic and mould is designed in a way to create the pinholes during the injection moulding process.
We can create pinhole glasses at home by taking an aluminium foil and punching holes into it with the help of a needle, but it won’t be comfortable to wear.
Why can I see clearly through the pinhole glasses?
A pinhole is a small hole of a diameter of 1mm that helps us to concentrate at a specific point by naturally giving the effect of squinting. People who wear specs understand how squinting works. It helps to diminish the number of light rays entering through the retina.
How did I use the pinhole glasses to improve vision?
The first day I wore the pinhole glasses for 2 hours continuously. I was warming up my eyes for this extreme test. I read few lines from my engineering book and that worked well.
I tried riding my bike with the pinhole glasses. It was my most thrilling experience. It blocks almost 80% of my peripheral vision. Our brain takes time to process new additional information. I felt like I had to concentrate so much on the road and couldn’t go beyond 30 mph.
It caused a slight headache and I recommend you avoid wearing pinhole glasses while driving.
I work as a Mechanical Engineer at a big MNC and I used to wear them to work. My colleagues used to make fun of the glasses and they were curious to know the reason I switched. I asked my junior to remove his specs and wear these to read a sentence far away. Guess what, he read that completely!
From then on, I use my prescription glasses only while driving and watching movies. I use pinhole glasses all the time.
Are there side effects of wearing pinhole glasses?
At first, you will experience a slight headache and mild eyestrain. Our eyes need to adapt to this new experience, and it takes time. Avoid wearing these for over 2 hours per day for the first month.
Avoid wearing these glasses when you experience high eyestrain and headache.
How to use pinhole glasses to improve vision (nearsightedness)?
Here comes the hard part.
- Buy a spectacle of power -0.25 less than your current vision requirements.
- Use the spectacles only when you have the necessity but wear the pinhole glasses almost all the time.
- Try to read far away sentences with the pinhole glasses for 30 minutes a day. This may reduce your productivity but might improve in the long run.
- Start doing eye exercises that reduce eye strain for 10 minutes.
5. Change the spectacles every 6 months by reducing the power by 0.25.
6. While working, blink your eyes 100 times every one or two hours.
7. Wash your eyes with clean, cold water frequently.
8. Avoid masturbation, alcohol and smoking. Researchers found that these factors may cause cataract in some people and increase body temperature.
9. Get adequate sunlight in the morning.
10. Avoid stress by taking part in a fitness workshop or massage therapy once a month.
11. Avoid fast food. Maximize intake of vegetables and other nutrition-rich foods.
Conclusion
By following these steps I was able to reduce my prescription glasses power from -2.75 and -3.25 to -1.5 and -1.75 in my left and right eye, respectively. I have the tendency to stay consistent in my plan and might completely get rid of my myopia within the next 2 years.
Thus I recommend using pinhole glasses to find a change in your vision.