In today’s interview, I get to speak with founder of endmyopia.org website, Jake Steiner.
We talk about myopia or short-sightedness, and how we can reverse it without the use of prescription glasses.
He explains it is not a ‘genetic condition’ or a ‘mysterious illness’, but rather a refractive state that can be corrected naturally.
We get a chance to talk about what causes myopia and why prescription glasses exacerbate this condition, leading to increasingly bigger prescriptions over time.
If you know someone who is interested in learning more about:
- What causes myopia (a.k.a nearsightedness)
- How they can reverse this condition and improve their vision
Then this interview is for them.
Jake explains that if we look at scientifically proven biological processes behind myopia, we can start correcting the root causes rather than simply throwing a patch over them.
I really enjoyed this interview with Jake who shared realistic lifestyle change tips (we are actually likely to stick to) to help us on the road to improved vision.
I like that he takes the measured approach, accepting the realities of today’s digital screen centered lives, and suggests simple habits we can all try implementing today.
Special thanks to Jake for joining me on the show.
Enjoy the episode!
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Speaker Links
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Show Notes with Timestamp Links
Find summarised highlights of what we talk about during the interview.
Use the clickable timestamp links to jump direct to those points in the audio:
[00:20] – Introducing, Jake Steiner, the founder of the website endmyopia.org; where he shares information that helped him reverse his severe short-sightedness back to 20/20 vision.
[00:39] – What is myopia, short-sightedness or near-sightedness and what causes it? It is not a mysterious condition that can only be treated with glasses; Jake explains it is a refractive state i.e. your eyes adjusting to the environment.
[02:15] – Google scholar is a great resource; by searching Near-induced transient myopia (NITM) or pseudo myopia, you will get countless studies discussing this phenomenon. Also, searching lens-induced myopia also generates articles showing how lenses you wear actually make it worse.
[03:16] – Jake explains why blaming genetics doesn’t make sense. He explains pseudo myopia; how a muscle in the eye controls a curved lens in the front of your eye to focus on objects you are looking at.
[05:40] – How is lens induced myopia different to pseudo-myopia? Jake summarises how the lenses we are prescribed to fix myopia work against us and have been proven to actually lead to stronger prescription glasses over time.
[09:45] – Dioptric is a term used to measure how strong your prescription is (the minus number). It is a measure of how far you can see before there is blur; Jake talks more about this on his website.
[10:30] – Short-sightedness does not always develop at the same rate for both eyes because of something called ocular dominance. Is it possible to even this out?
[14:11] – Through training we can improve our focus by adjust the length of the eye-ball over time. Jake explains that the elongation and shortening of the eye is no longer a debate as it has been scientifically validated as a biological fact.
[15:57] – Jake explains astigmatism; when some parts of your vision have more myopia than others. The measurement can be subjective and correcting with lenses can create lens induced astigmatism.
[17:28] – Tips on how we can try improve our vision without relying on glasses. Jake recommends, for parents with kids especially, checking with the doctor to see if there is an underlying medical condition first. If it is purely myopia, measure your eyesight and create data points to see what affects measurements.
BioHackers Lab Tip: Jake provides an eye-chart and explains how to do this on his website.
[21:36] – While changing diets won’t reverse myopia, insulin spikes can affect visual acuity. Jake recommends first looking at the science and then experimenting to see what makes a difference for you. Try stuff and measure the impact.
[24:34] – The two factors affecting myopia are the muscle spasm and eye ball shape. So, how do we start making changes? First address the ciliary spasm. Jake shares tips on relaxing the muscle before moving on to the next stage – improving your eye-sight.
[29:03] – How does using devices and reading at night before bed impact the ciliary muscle, does it remain in a spasm? It can depend on individual biology, so it is a good idea to check for yourself to see if it is something that needs to be addressed.
BioHackers Lab Tip: Use blue light blocking software like Iris and wear the glasses that filter blue light to help your eyes too.
[30:15] – Most likely it is beneficial to have less lit rooms/environment at night before bed to allow these eye muscles to relax. Also, to be successful at fixing myopia it is important that changes you make fit into your lifestyle habits with little tweaks.
[32:50] – The sun gazing concept. The Bates method is the originator of this idea, but Jake explains it does not address causality. However, it can be relaxing for the ciliary muscle and must be done at sunset only.
[35:23] – One of the biggest problems today with myopia is screen addiction; this is a big underlying issue. The length of time individuals need away from the screen varies. Jake shares easy ways we can break up the length of time in front of the screen.
[39:36] – A large majority of people are in front of the screen all day as part of their job. Jake shares how to go about making lifestyle changes to make eye-sight improvement possible, e.g. hobbies away from the screen can help.
[41:59] – Sometimes we can subconsciously get too close to the screen. We need to work out the ergonomically comfortable distance from the screen and be patient with ourselves while we are working on breaking bad habits.
[44:20] – We can challenge ourselves using games, such as the licence plate game in traffic. Kids can be a great inspiration for this and keep you accountable!
[45:35] – Are supplements for the eyes a good idea? Jake made a video discussing why they don’t work to fix myopia on their own. In general, if you have deficiencies, address these: get a blood test to figure out what needs fixing.
[47:44] – There are supplements people take for muscle cramps, magnesium for example. These could possibly be helpful for eye muscles, however, Jake reiterates that deficiencies will manifest elsewhere, as well.
[51:27] – Jake explains how he has collected feedback information from a large group of people over a long time to see what was effective. So far, he has no useful information on the trampoline exercise. However, a lot of people have success with random things that tend to boil down to less screen time.
[54:21] – Challenging the eyes improves the vision and a lot of people seem to have had success in improving theirs by doing this using various mechanisms. Jake explains why he doesn’t recommend this method and why he is a fan of changing your lifestyle instead.
[56:50] – What are the benefits for older individuals in doing this? Jake shares some examples of older people taking up a wide range of things later in life.
[1:00:01] – How long after we implement changes before we see some positive changes? There is an upfront learning curve, so Jake recommends the best way to start is with his 7-day email guide. He then has a lot of free resources on his website (which he is in the process of organising!).
[1:03:52] – To follow Jake and find out more, he has an Instagram, Facebook group, a forum and YouTube channel (but he says don’t follow him, listen to audio only as he wants you to spend less time looking at the screen!). Also, there is his website of course: endmyopia.org.
[1:05:46] – We wrap up with a question from Jake on behalf of his listeners for Gary: What was his experience like with the carnivore diet experiment he did? Gary has a 30-day video daily vlog on Youtube on what happened to him.
