Do Eye Massagers Really Improve Eyesight?

In this digitalized era, literally everyone’s looking at some kind of screen; be it for studying, working or just watching some cute kitten videos on youtube. 

This prolonged eye exposure to screens causes a condition known as digital eye strain, with the following symptoms ensuing like dry eyes, blurred vision, eye strain, headaches, and migraines. 

Eye massagers do aid in mitigating digital eye strain symptoms, and for those who suffer from dark circles and pronounced wrinkles, eye massagers can help work wonders for these. 

But what if you have actual eye-sight conditions like Myopia (near-sightedness), Hyperopia (far-sightedness), or Astigmatism? 

Do eye massagers provide a natural cure for these conditions and improve eyesight?

Let’s dissect this together.

do eye massagers really improve eyesight

How Do Eye Massagers Work?

So let’s start by understanding the underlying mechanism behind an eye massager. 

Eye massagers come in numerous shapes and types which we’ll be discussing later on, but the typical eye massager may utilize:

  • Vibrations
  • Air Pressure
  • Infra-red induced heat compression 
  • Tapping motions
  • Music

Some eye-massagers may include all these functionalities simultaneously. 

A full-fledged eye-massager looks like an eye mask, with cushioning that’s positioned to cover the user’s eyes. 

This cushioning is usually made out of foam material, in which it’s soft, gently moves in rhythmic pulses and movements to massage your eyes as well as your eye sockets, temples, and certain acupressure points surrounding your eyes.  

These cushioned airbag-like structures very gently inflate and deflate which significantly lessens pain and tension surrounding your eyes. They can also produce kneading/rolling movements that enhance blood flow towards your eyes. 

The gadget also relaxes your tense temples and eye muscles with heat and compression, which is extremely gratifying and helps mitigate soreness. It aids in getting rid of puffy eyes, as well as dark circles. 

Eye-massagers are designed to block out light so that your relaxation experience is further heightened. 

Also, these gadgets are mostly accompanied by remote controls which makes them extremely user-friendly. You can use the remote control to adjust the intensity of your sessions.

These eye-massagers usually run on battery power, in which you plug them into a power outlet for recharging. Some models can be plugged into your computer through a USB cable.

RENPHO Eye Massager with Heat & Compression, Bluetooth Music Rechargeable Eye Heat Massager for Relax and Reduce Eye Strain Dark Circles Eye Bags Dry Eye Improve Sleep

Renpho Eye Massager with heat and air compression (Click image to check latest price & reviews)

Shapes and Types of Eye-massagers

Eye-massagers specified for cosmetic use are usually small in size, with a vibrating/pulsating functionality only. It’s mostly designed to help the user get rid of wrinkles and dark circles.  

However, those manufactured for massaging and relaxation purposes are usually much bigger in size, shaped like a face-mask just like the type we’ve described above. 

Cosmetic Eye-Massagers

These eye-massagers are designed primarily as an aid for anti-aging. They’re compact and small in size. 

A good example is the Foreo Iris Illuminating Eye-Massager. It’s shaped to compliment your eye contour, in which you lightly press it on your eye contour for 30 seconds. 

They’re usually used in tandem with serums and eye-creams as they enhance the latter’s absorption. 

It’s shown that the tapping movement of these cosmetic eye-massagers help creams and anti-aging lotions penetrate into the skin surrounding your eye.

They’re shown to be tremendously effective even after first use; they significantly reduce dark circles, eye bags, and crow’s feet. 

Electric Eye-Massagers

These are the ones with the wider array of functionalities, designed for maintaining your eye’s health and the skin surrounding it. 

A multitude of big companies as Xiaomi, Merlin, and Panasonic have designed their own eye-massagers as a response to the market’s need for alleviating pesky symptoms associated with digital eye-strain. 

Go ahead and take a look at Panasonic’s eye-massager to grasp how these types of eye-massagers generally look like. 

Aside from cosmetic purposes, these eye-massagers are a must if you’re constantly tied to a screen due to work circumstances or educational purposes. Digital eye strain can prove dangerous if left unattended.

So, Back to The Main Question: Do Eye Massagers Improve Eyesight?

Now that you know all there’s about eye-massagers in a nutshell, it’d be easier to answer the question at hand. Can these eye-massagers improve damaged eye-sight?

It’s a ‘yes and no’ answer. 

If your eye-sight is temporarily damaged due to the effects of the repeatedly-mentioned ‘digital eye-strain’, then yes. A good electric massager would be of utmost help. 

However, if your eye-sight is impaired due to conditions like myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism then no, eye-massagers wouldn’t really benefit your vision. 

FOREO IRIS Illuminating Eye Massager, T-Sonic, Anti-age & Fatigue, Petal Pink

FOREO IRIS Illuminating Eye Massager (Click image to check the latest price & reviews)

Why’s that? 

Well, conditions like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism involve a differently-shaped eye structure. This is actually the cause of your vision impairment. 

A patient with myopia, for instance, has their eye-cornea too curved or their eye-ball a bit elongated. 

An eye massager’s heat therapy, air pressure therapy or rhythmic movements can do nothing to fix your eyeball’s/eye-cornea’s shape and structure.  

That’s exactly the same for hyperopia and astigmatism patients. Also, patients with glaucoma, cataract or age-related macular degeneration will see no particular cure in an eye-massager. 

The reason is that all these impairments/illnesses involve the differing in-depth structure of your eyes which could be manually fixed by surgery or laser treatments. 

So for now, you’d have to stick with your glasses/lenses, as well as maintaining a healthy, balanced diet to keep your vision strong and prevent it from deteriorating. 

Lutein and Vitamin A are your eye’s right-hand man, so make sure you have them readily available in your diet. 

There are many sources rich in lutein and vitamin A, like carrots, kale, zucchini, and many other ones.

The Takeaway

While vision impairment and bad eye-sight are a pain in the back, the only real way to correct them would be through glasses and lenses or opting for surgery and laser treatments.

Eye-massagers aren’t by any means a way to fix your eye’s internal structure, however, they’re extremely handy in relieving tension, pain, and mitigating migraines and headaches resulting from eye-strain. 

Always take good care of your eyes, as they’re the most precious of all. 

Follow tips and procedures to protect your eyes from the harmful effects of prolonged screen view, be sure to maintain a well-balanced diet, and of course, eat lots of carrots!

If you liked this article and want to learn more about electric massagers, check out other articles on our site!

An avid yoga practitioner, massage enthusiast, and wellness advocate since 2008. From then on, she has helped countless people alleviate muscle pains, tension and stress, to ultimately achieve wellness and balance in life.