Hi everybody, Neha here.  Today is my first day officially keeping an eye on your questions in the forum.  There is a bit of a theme I noticed, so here is a quick tip if you too are having trouble with your first active focus experiences.

First, as Alex mentions often, it can take time to find active focus.  Don’t rush it, it will come to you as long as you make the effort with a good blur distance.

That said, you can make it easier to have that experience the first time.  How?

Don’t use a computer screen as your primary tool for working on active focus.  At least don’t make that the only close-up object, especially not when you first try to have the experience.  Why?

 

Computer Screens Might Be Messing With Your Eyes.

1)  A low resolution display may not have the clear lines that will help induce the experience.  You might not think it matters, but wait till you try my alternate method (in a moment).

screen-sharpness

Left, not sharp enough for good blur horizon.

2)  Color reproduction might not be making things any easier.  Color reproduction can be funky on screens.  Your brain can react unpredictably.  I often use color combinations other than black and white with vision challenged patients, and it often makes a noticeable difference.

color-screens

Not all screen color ranges are created equal.

3)  Backlight vs. ambient light.  You want to have an equal amount of light in the room and on your screen.  The more the balance is off, the more difficult it can be to first find active focus.  

dark-room-screen

Not for happy eyes.  Notice also all those reflections on the lens. 

Does it all matter?

It may, it may not, for you.  But if you are struggling to find active focus, just get away from that screen for a while.  Eliminate all those potential problems, but going back to the old school ways:

Read a book!  The printed page has none of the issues you might encounter on a computer screen.

readingbook

Outdoors, in the shade.  Perfect!

Finding active focus on a book is often a whole lot easier than a screen.  It’s perfectly crisp, the page reflects just ambient light, there is no flicker, there are no questions about color ranges.  

If you have average myopia, not wearing any glasses with active focus with a book can be helpful.  Even a small amount of prescription discrepancy can make it harder to find active focus.

You will definitely find active focus faster, the first few times, by going the book route.  Do try it out!

– Neha