Myopia reversal and defocus training
Defocus-based myopia control + active focus (behavioral / 'Endmyopia'). Vision & eyes. Reviewed Jul 2026.
Randomised trials show defocus training slows eye growth in children, but adult reversal rests on one case that has not been peer reviewed.
What it is
The eye grows longer (more myopic) under hyperopic defocus and shortens under myopic defocus. Protocol: differential (weaker) lenses for close work to remove near-blur, slightly-reduced 'normalized' lenses for distance to create mild myopic defocus, plus 'active focus' — consciously clearing the edge-of-blur to train accommodation. Goal: stop and partially reverse axial elongation.
The evidence
Mechanism solid: 60-min human defocus changes axial length bidirectionally, p<0.0001 (Read et al., IOVS 2010). Pediatric myopia-control is RCT-backed: naked-eye 3D/defocus training cut axial elongation ~24% (up to 40% high-adherence) (Xie et al., JAMA Pediatr 2024); ~39.5% and additive to ortho-k/atropine (Xu et al., Clin Optom 2025). Adult full reversal is only an n=1 non-peer-reviewed preprint (−6.00 D in 5 months, Martinez-Saito, OSF 2025). Accommodative lag in myopes ~2× (PMC9544228). Caveat: passive undercorrection without active focus can worsen myopia (Chung 2002).
What you can do today
The human evidence is early and does not support a general recommendation. If this area is relevant to you, discuss it with a clinician. Products sold in this space are not proof that it works.
Sources
- Coverage, not a sourcex.com
No primary paper or registry record is linked for this entry yet. The evidence summary names the studies it relies on.
Change history
Vision and eyes category added, with defocus-based myopia control at "Early human signal".
Randomised trials show slower eye growth in children. Adult reversal rests on a single case that has not been peer reviewed.