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Next time your doctor prescribes glasses, ask this first
Next time your doctor prescribes glasses, ask this first: 👉 Is this fixing clarity or function? Because seeing clearly does not automatically mean your visual system is working well. A lot of people get stronger prescriptions every few years while still dealing with eye strain, headaches, brain fog, or feeling overwhelmed by screens. That’s often a function issue, not a clarity issue. Glasses can sharpen what you see. They do not always fix how your eyes and brain work together. If you want to know which one you’re actually dealing with, there’s a free vision quiz that can help point you in the right direction.
A functional vision problem you can spot at home.
A functional vision problem you can spot at home. If reading feels exhausting… If your eyes feel heavy or strained after screens… If your focus fades as the day goes on… That’s not just “being tired.” It’s often a sign your visual system is working too hard to stay clear. One common cause of this is Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD)- when the eyes don’t work together efficiently, forcing the brain to constantly compensate. And here’s the part most people miss: Many vision problems like BVD don’t show up on an eye chart. They show up in how your eyes feel, not just what you can see. If this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining it. And you’re definitely not alone. — Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only; not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal care and before you make any health decisions
One thing youll never see in my house as an eye doctor of 15 years
One thing you’ll never see in my house as an eye doctor of 15 years...👇 ‼️ Screens without visual breaks ‼️ Not because screens are bad. But because nonstop close up work is exhausting for the visual system. When you stare at something close for hours, your eyes stay locked in near focus mode. Blink rate drops. Muscles stay tense. Your brain works harder just to keep things clear. And that’s why so many people feel fried, foggy, or headachy by mid afternoon. Your eyes were never meant to work like that all day. — Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only; not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal care and before you make any health decisions⌛
Test for screen related stress
Your screen habits might be stressing your visual system more than you think. This quick test can give you a clue in under 60 seconds. If it feels difficult, uncomfortable, or fatiguing, your eyes may be working harder than they should.
Why you need both eyes working together
Two healthy eyes does not mean healthy vision. If your eyes aren’t aligned and coordinated, your brain compensates constantly. That hidden effort shows up as symptoms most people never associate with their eyes. This was a big part of my conversation with @allanapratt during our Insta Live and it’s one of the most overlooked parts of vision health.
Things I do to keep my vision strong
Weird things I do to keep my vision strong 👇 1. Eye “push ups” 👉 I regularly move my focus from near to far instead of staying locked on a screen all day. It keeps the focusing system flexible. 2. Distance breaks 👉 Not scrolling. Not blue light glasses. Actual distance. Letting the eyes relax and reset. 3. I stop before my eyes are fried 👉 Waiting until you have a headache is too late. Early breaks matter more. 4. I pay attention to comfort, not just clarity 👉 Clear vision that feels exhausting isn’t healthy vision. These aren’t hacks. They’re just ways to keep the visual system from working overtime. — Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only; not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal care and before you make any health decisions
Advice I would give you as an eye doctor of 20 years
Advice I would give you as an eye doctor of 20 years 👀 1. Your eyes are not broken. They are overloaded. Most vision issues I see are not eye problems, they are eye brain problems from nonstop close up work. 2. Screens are not evil, but zero breaks are. If you stare at something close all day, your system forgets how to relax. Distance matters more than blue light glasses. 3. Headaches, fatigue, and “brain fog” are often vision stress. A lot of people chase hormones, supplements, or caffeine when their visual system is the real issue. 4. If reading feels hard, exhausting, or blurry, that is a signal. Struggling through it is not normal and it is not something you should just push through. 5. Vision can be trained at any age. You are not stuck with the way your eyes work now. The system is adaptable if you give it the right input. — Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only; not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal care and before you make any health decisions
If you struggle driving at night.. it could be this!
If driving in the rain or at night makes you anxious, tense, or overwhelmed... You’re not being dramatic. And it’s not just confidence. Low light + glare + moving lights + reduced contrast place a huge demand on your visual system. If your eyes aren’t coordinating efficiently or your visual processing is under stress, your brain has to work overtime to keep things clear and safe, especially in conditions like rain or darkness. That can show up as: 👉 fear of driving at night 👉 panic in heavy rain 👉 avoiding highways after dark 👉 feeling visually overloaded even when you can “see fine” It’s not in your head. And it’s not just your eyes. — Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only; not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personal care and before you make any health decisions
You can use augmented reality to retrain your vision
This usually surprises people.... We actually use augmented reality to retrain how the eyes and brain work together. Not for gaming. Not for screens. But to create very specific visual challenges the brain has to learn to adapt to in real time. Vision isn’t static. It’s trainable. When you give the brain the right input, in the right environment, it can relearn more efficient ways to see, focus, and process the world. đź‘€đź§
How I help pro teams find draft picks
One of the most fun parts of my work? Helping pro teams figure out who to draft. I assess athletes' visual system- where they're performing now vs. where they could be performing. When I see a big gap, I know there's huge potential. I'll tell a team: take this player. We'll train their visual system, close that gap, and watch their performance explode. You can predict who's going to elevate based on vision training. It's not about drafting the best—it's about drafting who can become the best. From my recent chat on @straightupwithstephpod 🎙️