Dehydration is the enemy
Dry eyes and eye strain are linked with dehydration. Lose 10 per cent of body fluid and your vision will dim. “In the autumn, drink 300-500ml about 2-3 hours before kick-off, and then little and often up to the whistle,” advises sports scientist Joel Enoch.
Eye push-ups
“Use a pencil with a letter on it and hold at arm’s length,” says Dr Sherylle Calder. “Keeping your eyes focused on the letter, slowly bring it closer towards your face until it touches your nose. Slowly move it in and out 10 times, with your head still.”
Block out interference
“Focus on the spot you wish to send the ball before settling your eyes back on the ball and holding them there. This intense focus blocks out negative interference,” advises psychology lecturer Dr Samuel Vine. “This is useful for set-pieces.”
Sleep your way to the top
Adequate sleep is essential for eye health as it combats optical effects of fatigue. “When you’re tired, blurred vision is very common, as well as dry eyes,” says Dr Guy Meadows, director of The Sleep School.
Eye can learn
Central-peripheral performance is how well you fix on a target while locating the next one. A high level will avoid the offside trap. The best way to improve this? By watching red and blue boxes on a clown’s face – just one sight-improving game at eyecanlearn.com.
Downloading accuracy
“We’ve created an app with visual games to help you get the ball into the goal,” says UltimEyes developer Aaron Steitz. “We trained baseball players for two months and found they could read two lines lower on an eye chart. They also won more games later that year.” UltimEyes is on the App Store (£3.99).
Feeding awareness
That tale about carrots improving vision is true. Your body coverts the beta-carotene into vitamin A, linked with good eye health.
