Your eyes are one of the most complex systems in the body and yet many of us simply take them for granted. We exercise our muscles and our brains, but we rarely ever consider exercising our eyes and yet just a couple of minutes a day can make a difference — and there are no monthly gym fees to pay, either!

Sight Training, created under the supervision of Dr Hisao Ishigaki, a leader in the field of visual training for athletes and professor at the Aichi Institute of Technology, is a new application for the Nintendo DS, and, like the hugely successful Brain Training, is both quick and enjoyable. With each session only lasting two to three minutes a day, even the busiest person can fit a day’s training into their schedule. The Nintendo DS uses intuitive controls and a touch screen which has been designed for people of all ages and abilities to use, so you don’t need to be a computer expert to get started.

But the way our vision works is far more complex than simply opening our eyes: there are five components to our general eyesight, all of which can be trained using the Sight Training exercises, although vision defects, of course, cannot be corrected using this method and should always be checked out by a specialist. The five areas are:

Hand-eye co-ordination, which relates to analysing information and reacting quickly.

Motion detection, which helps to improve your peripheral vision. This means being able to see things outside your immediate focus and, for example, having a broad field of vision is particularly helpful as a pedestrian when crossing the road.

Eye movement, which enables you to pick up large amounts of information quickly.

Momentary vision, which is the ability to process information with a single glance. Improve on this and you will be able to grasp a large amount of visual information in an instant, such as when you are driving and need to keep an eye on both pedestrians and the road.

Dynamic visual ability, which helps you to see fast-moving objects clearer. Train this aspect of your sight and sports such as tennis and football become easier.

“Training or exercising your eyes is all about making them work to their best ability,” Gail Stephenson, head of orthoptics at the University of Liverpool. Regularly exercising the speed with which we interpret the information going into our eyes, using the techniques like those included in this product, can make a real difference to the overall visual reaction for anyone who has normal eyes and brain.”

When you first begin the Sight Training programme, your visual strength in the above five aspects will be checked through a series of exercises and from these results an “eye age score” is given. After this, a regular personalised training programme is devised, with the aim of creating an overall balance of “focus ability”.

Used by members of the England and South Africa rugby union squads, regular use of Sight Training can ultimately bring your eye age down to that of a 20-year-old — and who wouldn’t give up a few minutes of each day to achieve that?

*This software does not improve vision and will not improve any existing eye condition.

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