Vision Training & Performance: Why Functional Vision is Trainable (and What to Do About It) - Dr Bryce Appelbaum on The Ready State Podcast
“If you can’t control your eyes and their ability to focus, you can’t control your mind and its ability to focus.” — Dr. Bryce Appelbaum
Most people assume vision is fixed. If the letters get blurry, you get glasses. If your eyes feel tired, you push through.
In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Dr. Bryce Appelbaum breaks down a different truth: Vision is a trainable, brain-based skill. And when that system isn’t working well, it can show up as far more than “bad eyesight” from reading fatigue and headaches to balance issues, motion sensitivity, and even symptoms that look like ADHD.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
- What functional vision training is (and how it differs from standard eye exams)
- Why vision is a skill — not just a sense
- How concussions and screen time can disrupt your visual system
- The surprising ways vision affects posture, balance, and coordination
- Practical tools to improve visual endurance and reaction time
- How athletes can train their eyes like any other muscle
- Why vision issues are often misdiagnosed as ADHD
What “Functional Vision” Actually Means
A standard eye exam primarily checks structure and clarity (that “20/20” eyesight). A Comprehensive Functional Vision Assessment looks at how your brain uses your eyes to do real life:
- Tracking across a page
- Focusing up close and shifting between near and far
- Eye teaming (keeping images single, not double)
- Depth perception and spatial awareness
- Peripheral awareness and reaction timing
As Dr. Appelbaum explains, the issue with modern healthcare is that it focuses on managing illness instead of maximizing performance.
Why Screens Are a Problem for Your Vision
Modern life demands intense near-vision work for hours a day. Without the right visual foundation, this overloads the system and forces the brain into overdrive.
The result? Tired eyes, brain fog, reading avoidance, and declining visual stamina. Dr. Bryce Appelbaum emphasizes that vision needs movement and recovery, just like the rest of the body.
Vision, ADHD, and Concussions
One of the biggest takeaways from the conversation:
Many attention, reading, and post-concussion symptoms mirror functional vision deficits. Dr. Appelbaum explains that vision is deeply tied to attention, balance, and sensory processing. Unless vision is evaluated, diagnoses can be incomplete. The good news? Thanks to neuroplasticity, the visual system can improve at any age.
Inside the Episode
- (00:00) – Vision Is More Than 20/20 Eyesight
- (01:48) – Eyesight vs. Functional Vision
- (05:14) – Training Eyesight Without Glasses
- (10:27) – Hidden Vision Problems in Children
- (15:44) – Causes of Reading Fatigue
- (18:54) – How Screen Time Affects Vision
- (23:33) – What Does Vision Training Include?
- (32:45) – How Long Does Vision Training Take?
- (38:02) – The Gut-Brain-Vision Connection
- (44:06) – Concussions and Vision Problems
- (50:30) – Vision Therapy for Concussions
- (53:20) – Sports Vision Training and Performance
- (56:20) – How to Get Started With Vision Training
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