Screen time strain: Discovering the antidote with 'Lazy 8' exercises

In our modern world, it's all too common to find ourselves glued to screens for prolonged periods, subjecting our eyes to considerable strain. But what if we told you there's a simple, effective tool that can provide much-needed relief and also stimulate different regions of your brain? Enter the world of "lazy 8's."

A "lazy 8" is essentially the infinity symbol turned sideways, and by repeatedly drawing this figure with precision, you can engage your eye-hand coordination while crossing over the midline—the central point of this symbol. This practice can significantly enhance hand-eye coordination, facilitate the integration of your brain's hemispheres, strengthen your eye muscles, and enhance their collaborative function.

In this blog post, we'll explore these engaging "lazy 8" exercises and delve into the insights shared by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., in 2005. She offers valuable tips to get started and highlights the benefits of these activities for your physical and mental well-being.

Carla Hannaford, Ph.D (2005) shares a few tips for getting started:

First Activity: Lazy 8:

1. Hold a ‘thumbs up’ sign in front of your body at about reading distance in front of your eyes

2. Make sure your thumb is positioned at the midline (an imaginary line that separates the two halves of your body)

3. Keeping your head still, very slowly and mindfully move your thumb in a counterclockwise direction upwards (towards the top left corner), down and around, crossing through the centrepoint and then continuing this shape on the opposite side; make sure this is a fluid movement and the size of the symbol does not exceed your visual field

4. Repeat this three times with each hand

5. Clasp the hands together, crossing the thumbs in an ‘X’ shape and focus your eyes on the centre of this X. Start at the midline and follow the same infinity sign as you practised earlier

6. Repeat 3 times

According to Carla, “This activity effectively strengthens the extrinsic eye muscles, assisting in network development and myelination from the frontal eye field area for fine motor tracking. It also sets up learning patterns that coordinate hand-eye and eye-hand alignment.”

As you practise this activity, notice what happens to your breathing. When we stop breathing it is often an indication that our bodies are under stress. The next time you practise this perhaps try to coordinate this movement with your breath (for example, inhaling as your ‘lazy 8’ moves upwards and exhaling as it moves down and towards the midpoint). Increasing the amount of oxygen that your brain is receiving will help to reduce your stress and improve concentration. 

Did you notice your head moving with your eyes? Or perhaps your eyes were jumping? If so, it may be that you have an unintegrated ATNR (Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex) or STNR (Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex) - two primitive reflexes that are responsible for developing our ability to track horizontally and vertically. When these reflexes are unintegrated they can cause difficulty crossing the midline of our body (the midline is an imaginary line that runs vertically down the centre of the body). 

If you did notice this pattern recurring it may be worth scheduling a neurodevelopmental assessment to investigate further. 

Second Activity: Tilted 8 

1. Follow the first two steps of the activity above and then very slowly move your thumb in a counterclockwise direction upwards and away from your body (towards the top left corner as though that side of the 8 is leaning back); continue to draw the symbol down and around, moving towards the centrepoint and as you draw the second half of this figure bring your thumb closer towards your body as though the right side of the 8 is tilting towards you. Make sure this is a continuous movement and the size of the symbol does not exceed your visual field

2. Repeat this activity but start drawing the first half of the figure as though it were closer to you and the second half as though it were further away

3. Repeat this three times with each hand

“This exercise works the intrinsic muscles that hold the lens of the eye, thus activating near and far focus.” according to Carla.

This helps our eyes to rotate fully in a way that they do not when we are staring straight ahead at a screen all day. It can be very difficult for people in high states of stress as our peripheral vision is more active when we are ‘on the lookout for a predator’ (fight or flight) which can therefore make foveal focus (necessary for reading) very difficult. 

Third Activity: Giant 8’s to improve written work

1. Start by placing your finger on the ground; it can be nice to use a textured surface for more sensory stimulation (such as a carpet, the grass or the sandpit)

2. Make sure your finger starts at the midline and as with the exercises above, start by drawing the sideways infinity sign from the centrepoint in a counterclockwise direction upwards (towards the top left corner) and around, crossing through the centrepoint and then repeating on the opposite side, make sure this is a continuous movement 

3. Repeat this 5 times

4. Repeat the same activity with the opposite hand

5. Repeat the same activity with both hands together

By using your hands against a surface you are stimulating the motor and sensory cortices in the brain; “This action relaxes the muscles of the hands, arms and shoulders as well as facilitating visual tracking.” (Carla Hannaford). This activity can be useful if you feel stuck in the middle of a piece of written work as it helps the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other again.

Who knew the infinity sign could have so many uses? Next time you’re in need of a break from the screen, why not give one of these activities a try. 

Author: Jessie Fuller (Senior Neurodevelopmental Practitioner and Training Lead at The Key Clinic)