The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent or Reverse Nearsightedness [Paperback]

David De Angelis (Author), Otis Brown (Afterword), Dr. Lee Anthony De Luca (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2008

Author David De Angelis’s search for a cure for nearsightedness was both professional and personal, since he suffered from the disease himself. An expert in muscular work dynamics, he discovered through extensive testing and an immersion in decades of scientific studies that working the extrinsic ocular muscles could preserve sight and re-educate the eyes toward better vision. He came to understand the importance of retinal defocus for transforming ocular refractive status. In this book, the author shares both the science and the “secret”–progressive retinal defocus technique–of how he was able to reverse his own myopia. The system’s efficacy, he says, comes from the fact that it directly intervenes with the causes that generate myopia onset and development (overaccommodative/near-point stress). When adequately stimulated by the simple exercises presented in the book, ocular refractive capability leads to gradual strengthening of focusing capability and gradual decreasing of refractive error. Written in straightforward language, and featuring an extensive section on the scientific research in this field, The Secret of Perfect Vision offers a proven program of healing to the millions of people afflicted with this condition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The body is self-healing. This book provides a roadmap for recovering that miraculous power. As an optometrist and vision scientist I can attest to the effectiveness of this work.”—Jacob Liberman, OD, PhD, author of Light: Medicine of the Future, Take Off Your Glasses and See, and Wisdom from an Empty Mind“Vision is a complex, mysterious, and marvelous process that is still not fully understood, even by those in the scientific and medical communities. I welcome David De Angelis’s contributions to furthering this understanding. The fact that his approach has worked for him is further proof that each of us has the power to regain better vision and sharp focus—a message I’ve been advocating for the last thirty years.”—Martin Sussman, president and founder of Cambridge Institute for Better Vision and author of The Program for Better Vision; www.bettervision.com

About the Author

David De Angelis received his degree in law at La Sapienza University in Rome and was heading toward a career in forensics when he became interested in learning more about the body’s development and psycho-bodily integration in the wake of muscular rehabilitation techniques and bioenergetics. After a great deal of studying and research, De Angelis wrote Power-Flex Stretching: Super Flexibility and Strength for Peak Performance (Pagefree Publishing 2005), in which he explains innovative techniques for developing greater strength and flexibility.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556436777
• ISBN-13: 978-1556436772
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Eye Problems

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing 20/20 after 6 months, August 2, 2008

By 

Alexander Eulenberg - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent or Reverse Nearsightedness (Paperback)

I ordered David De Angelis's book, "The Secret of Perfect Vision," as soon as it was announced, and have been following the program now for just about six months now. The "secret" of the "Power Vision System" that David describes in his book is working for me. I will let you in on the "secret". It is threefold:

1. Thorough extraocular muscle stretching/strengthening/range of motion exercises
2. Rest/recovery intervals
3. Retinal defocus training (reading through a slight blur produced by wearing a reduced, or sometimes "opposite" prescription, or so-called "plus" lenses, for low myopes)

Although I was able to pass the driver's exam (twice) since I "threw away" my -1.50 D glasses 15 years ago, my vision still wasn't perfect. Under good indoor conditions I have been able to read the 20/40 line. Today I am reading 20/25 under the same conditions.

Over the years I have been using plus lenses to keep my vision from slipping (I work at the computer all day), sometimes more, sometimes less intensely. In the past I have always reached a point of maximum improvement, where instead of improving with the plus lens, I felt my eyes simply got more tired. So I gave it a rest for a while, coming back to it when I became unsatisfied with my distance vision again. Basically, one step forward, one step back.

With the muscle exercise routine added, it seems more like four steps forward, three steps back. So it still isn't an "instant" cure, but I am noticing overall, gradual progress. My outdoor daytime vision is now excellent; it tests at 20/20 or even 20/15 in bright sunlight.

I feel that extraocular muscle exercises have "unlocked" my eyes, and now the exercises with plus lenses can "open" them up where they weren't able to before.

Although this book is quite long, its value is in the simplicity of the method presented. David spends a lot of time going over the scientific underpinnings of the method, from experiments with monkeys wearing lenses to the principles of exercise physiology. He puts it there, I think, mostly for the people who insist on having "proof." He warns you that there will be good days and bad days; you have to stick on through it. For some people, having a "scientific" explanation will give you the courage do persevere. Others, I must admit, might find the "science" part confusing, but it is really not necessary. For balance, David touches on emotional aspects of vision, which may resonate better for other readers. At the end of the book he has a practical question and answer section and specific very easy-to-follow routines.

And if you still have some questions, David provides a link to the free "PowerVisionForum" web site (full disclosure: I am the moderator) where you can discuss this method (and other methods of vision improvement) and David (or I) will happily answer them there.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power Vision System...this book deserves the name!, March 1, 2008

By 

visionseeker (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent or Reverse Nearsightedness (Paperback)

I have read this updated edition of the book and also know the previous version. I recommend it to anyone willing to improve their nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. When I first started doing the exercises described in this book my prescription was -2.25/-2.5. Well, after constantly practicing my vision has improved and now my nearsightedness is -0.50/-0,75...amazing! The same exercises and principles can also be applied for prevention purposes and the author can be contacted for further questions. Highly recommended!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wish I'd read this book 22 years ago, November 8, 2009

By 

Sean "Born in the SShA" (Severnaya Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent or Reverse Nearsightedness (Paperback)

I'm 31 years old and started wearing glasses for myopia when I was 9. My last contact lens prescription was -8.5 OD -7 OS. Now that I think back on it, I'm disgusted at myself for having allowed my vision to deteriorate so much, as well as at the motives and methods of all the venal opticians and ophthalmologists in the world who have told us that the only solution to myopia is a stronger pair of lenses.

In July 2009 I got a pair of computer glasses to relieve eyestrain, without the intention of improving my vision. However, I accidentally experienced some improvement within a week of using them, became curious about what had caused the improvement, and stumbled upon this book as a result.

After reading DeAngelis's book, I started doing the exercises religiously. Within the first few weeks, my contacts had become too strong and I needed to switch to an old pair that I'd fortunately kept. This happened again twice. Now I'm wearing a pair of -3.0 OD -4.0 OS glasses that I can see clearly out of up to 2/3 meters (in a darkened room looking at small print on a computer screen), from which I infer that I'm about -4.5 and -5.5. The change has been nothing short of amazing.

One caveat is that my progress has seemed to slow down significantly, even though I'm still pushing myself hard. (I'm into weight-training, so DeAngelis's concept of stimulus-driven adaptation is very familiar to me.) I suspect that with eyes as bad as mine, it may not be possible to ever get to perfect vision. DeAngelis says that improving from any degree of myopia is possible and is just a matter of hard work, but he personally only recovered from -2 myopia. Obviously, neither of us has the final word right now, and I hope he is right and will continue practicing David's methods until I stop experiencing improvements for several months.

Regardless of whether I can get to perfect vision, being significantly less nearsighted has made my quality of life a lot better in numerous small ways. Just one example is that when I go to the pool now to swim, i don't need to bother with switching out of my gas-permeable into disposable lenses, which was a major pain before. I now just dive in without any sort of correction. It feels so liberating.

Side note: I've also been doing a lot of reading on the Bates method. The idea of "workouts" and "effort" may deter Bates purists, but it seems possible to reconcile the two methods. I've gradually come to realize that print-pushing is--essentially--central fixation and shifting at the far point. And it would seem to make sense that it's easier to practice shifting and central fixation right at the distance where things start to get blurry, rather than on an even more distant object, because it's not too much of a leap for our eyes to focus just a little bit farther. Also, the stretching workout that DeAngelis recommends feels like an aid to relaxing the extraocular muscles afterwards, which of course is a very desirable thing from the Bates point of view. For these reasons, DeAngelis's method seems to work well for me. Molte Grazie, David!