Summary
– Step 1: Settle in before exercise
– Step 2: Warm-up
– Step 3: Work on convergence
– Step 4: Work on eye flexibility
– Step 5: Rest your eyes
– Step 6: Work on strength and range of motion
– Step 7: Monitor your vision
– Step 8: Supplements to relieve eye strain
– Step 9: Design Your Workspace
Eye strain is usually caused by working in a job that does not allow sufficient eye movement. This is especially true with a computer screen always located at the same distance (but the same is true for large screens, for example).
Convergence is what allows us to focus in case of near vision. It will also be affected in case of eye fatigue.
This fatigue translates into headaches pain in the eyes and temples, among other things.
Relieving eye strain requires:
– on the one hand, to re-educate convergence;
– on the other hand, it mobilizes the eyes to work the muscles. In the context of eye fatigue in front of a screen, you must work the 6 eye muscles according to 3 main factors:
◦ their flexibility;
◦ their strength;
◦ their amplitude.
1. Settle in before the exercises
Whatever exercises are proposed, they can be done either in a row one after the other or in isolation.
– Remove your contact lenses if you have them.
– Do the eye exercises in a comfortable position, sitting on a chair or the floor with your back straight.
– Practice the exercises in front of a solid-coloured wall, white if possible.
– Do these exercises regularly.
– Do not force yourself if you experience unpleasant sensations such as headaches or dizziness, for example.
2. Warm-up
As with all muscle work, the warming up phase is critical. Perform each movement slowly, in a controlled and non-automatic way.
At the eye level, after you have settled incorrectly:
– Exaggeratedly blink several times.
– Close your eyes and nod your head: up and down and then from left to right.
3. Work on convergence
Two major exercises exist to work on the convergence of your eyes:
Exercise 1
– Hold a finger vertically in front of you at eye level. Throughout the exercise, do not take your eyes off the finger.
◦ While exhaling, slowly bring the finger up to your nose.
◦ While breathing in, move it as far away as possible.
– Continue this exercise by synchronizing the breath and the finger’s movement well.
– Finish by closing your eyes for a few seconds.
Note: you can change the path followed by your arm so that your eyes move in all directions.
Exercise 2
– Hold a pencil straight out in front of you at eye level.
– Look at it and then at a point on the wall behind it.
– Move back and forth from one to the other for a few seconds each time until your eyes focus.
– After several trips back and forth, look at other points on the wall: up, down, to the left, to the right… While continuing to go back and forth.
4. Work on eye flexibility
It is possible to work on the flexibility of the eyes by taking into account, on the one hand, the orbit (container), on the other hand, the eyeball (content).
– Close your eyes and massage the area around the eye with your thumbs, following the bone. Stay a few seconds on each point.
– With your eyelids still closed, use your index fingers to gently push the eyeballs downward by pressing on the upper part of the globe.
– Hold for a few seconds, then gently release.
– Perform the same type of manipulation to bring the globes inward, upward, and then outward, positioning your fingers respectively on the outside, the bottom, and then the inside of the globe.
5. Rest your eyes
Alternate the different exercises with rest phases.
To do this:
– Place your palms down in front of your closed eyes.
– After a few seconds, open your eyes to “look” in the dark. The light should not filter through your fingers.
Also, when working in front of a screen, take regular breaks to relieve your eye strain.
6. Work on strength and range of motion
To work on strength and range of motion to relieve eye strain:
– Keeping your head upright, make large circles with your eyes so that you look as far as possible in all directions.
– In the same posture, look as far as you can up, down, right, and left, returning each time to the centre. Hold your gaze in each direction for a few seconds.
You can also call on a professional, an optometrist, who can treat the most severe cases of eye fatigue.
Monitor your vision
If you wear glasses, they should be checked regularly. Indeed, their power should not be excessive so that the eye continues to work, but they should not be too weak either, which would considerably tire your vision.
If you don’t have glasses: make sure you don’t need them, knowing that glasses are specifically designed to combat eye fatigue. In some cases, they are enough to relieve it.
8. Supplements to relieve eye strain
Eye strain can also be partially relieved by several treatments. However, it is advisable not to be satisfied with these and practise the above exercises. These treatments include:
– artificial tears;
– trace elements;
– vitamins (vitamin A or retinol in particular) by consuming:
◦ carrots and fennel (the beta-carotene they contain is a precursor of vitamin A);
◦ green vegetables;
◦ cod liver oil;
◦ egg yolks.
9. Arrange your workspace
Finally, don’t neglect to adapt your workspace to limit eye strain in front of a screen.
– Don’t work in the dark and if the room’s lighting is poor, adjust the lighting.
– Conversely, if the light is too bright and dazzling, use curtains or blinds.
– Also, consider adjusting the brightness of your screen as needed.
– Place the screen at an appropriate height: at eye level or slightly lower.
– Observe the distance between the screen and you: it should not be too close but at least an arm’s length away.
Hope the following methods help keep your eyes healthy, but if you notice any discomfort, such as hazy visions or extreme eye pain, please get in touch with VALLEY VISION.
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