In order to read in a relaxed manner, there are a few reading tips you can easily follow.
These are explained below.
1.
Stop to rest.
Often when reading the reader plunges into his book and never takes his eyes off the page.
As a people we have lost the art of relaxation which we must learn to regain at the cost of a great deal of practice.
Give your eyes frequent periods of rest while you are reading.
Stop at the end of each page to relax, to take a deep breath, to raise the eyes and look across the room, thus changing the focus from near to far.
Reading itself, whether because of strained attention or strained eyes, can become a form of effort.
It is our task to relax and keep relaxed so that reading can be done with no effort at all.
The fact that it must necessarily be a slow process in the beginning need not discourage you.
When you have learned correct reading habits, the speed of your reading will increase.
Meantime, break off at frequent intervals and relax, letting the eyes become completely rested.
Remember that physical rest is not enough; first you must have mental rest.
Therefore, while you relax your eyes, try to visualize the last word you have read, then the last letter of the word, finally the dot at the end of the sentence.
When you pick up your book again your eyes will be refreshed and your sight improved.
2.
See the white line.
There is one essential reading tip which must be emphasized here.
Although you should not try to take in too large an area of type at one time, you should not try to concentrate your attention on each letter.
Such concentration involves staring.
Remember that you are not trying to see; you are simply permitting vision to enter the eyes.
Move your eyes easily along the line of type.
If you look steadily at the printed letters your eyes become fatigued and the vision gets worse.
Instead, learn to be aware of the white space under the line of type.
By noticing the white space, the type itself seems to become blacker and more distinct in contrast, and therefore reading is easier.
As you read, try the following experiment: When you reach the end of a paragraph, close your eyes and imagine, as clearly and sharply as you can, pure whiteness.
Then open your eyes and the white spaces between the lines will appear whiter than they were before while the type itself seems to be blacker.
Constant experiment has revealed that by seeing consciously the white spaces below the line of type, reading can be done more easily and with less strain than in any other way.
And the fatigue and headache which so often accompany reading with defective eyes will be eliminated.
Conscientiously following this practice will enable you to read more rapidly and easily than trying to see groups of words.
3.
Reading procedures for cross-eyes.
Correct reading habits are particularly important for the person suffering from cross-eyes.
Teaching the eyes to work in unison helps to overcome muscular imbalance, but the lazy eye will not carry its share of the work until it is forced to do so.
Put an eye patch over the good eye and read two pages with the poor eye; shift the patch to this eye and read one page with the good eye.
Then remove the patch altogether and read a page with both eyes.
This is a cumbersome process, but cross-eyes are a cumbersome problem.
If you follow this practice consistently, you can do much to strengthen the weaker eye and train them both to act as a team.
Practise these easy reading tips and you will increase your ease and comfort in reading.