What is the Bates Method?
The Bates method is named after ophthalmologist William H. Bates (1860 to 1931) who popularized a method of improving eyesight by retraining the way an individual used her eyes. He published “Perfect Sight Without Eyeglasses” in 1920. “The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Eyeglasses” (1940) is still in print and widely read. Dr. Bates believed that eyesight could be improved by doing things such as palming the eyes, sunning them while they were closed and reducing mental strain. He had many supporters and critics alike. British writer Aldous Huxley, his most famous supporter, learned his method and claimed his eyesight greatly improved which he wrote about in “The Art of Seeing” in 1942.
