eyesight gets clearer when you squint...why?

[joko]

why do things like words on a screen become clearer if you squint a bit?

any ideas?

thanks to all who reply

[B00]

Don't know for certain, but could it be anything to do with the fact you're narrowing your field of vision- therefore focusing on an object?

[Neenee]

maybe you need glasses and your eyes checked out
or feeling tired???

[zaskar]

This happens to me too... thought it was because I needed glasses...

[joko]

thanks

i do have mild glasses

it will happen to anyone who has glasses, i meant why does doing this 'correct' the vision, what is the technical reason for it?

[tigerthecat]

the answer (apparently) is because as you get older the muscles controlling your eyes become weaker. Which means if you had poor eyesight your young muscles have for years been quickly compensating for it. In fact your young eyes were able to adjust so quickly you didn't even notice. You may even have had eye tests which said perfect vision. But as you have aged so have those muscles so when you say if I squint it becomes clearer. What is happening is you are taking longer to compensate for your poor vision. How do I know - well it happened to me (41) and the optician said it begins to happen to most people around this age. She also said that my poor eye sight was related to the birth process and how I was delivered she said she could tell if a customer had been through a traumatic delivery. Apparently its not good to for your eyesight to have foreceps help you into the world. Still I get to wear wondeful glasses which now give me an aire of intelligence :-)

[cuetip]

From round about the age of 40 the crystalline lens in the eye starts to harden up.

This is what causes people to need reading glasses

[YvonneM]

A good trick is to make a hole in a piece of paper with needle so that you can see through it this should tell you if you need glasses as the light beams are directed onto the flattest part of the eyeball I am extremely shortsighted but I can see the TV quite clearly doing this

[joko]

i am 34 and have only just been given my first glasses for distance and they are the minimum prescription you can have.

it only seems to work for me on words on signs far away...

thanks