Spending 8 hours a day on a computer screen for your job can take its toll on your eyes. So just as it is important to exercise your body to stay fit and healthy, it is also important to keep exercising your eyes to maintain your vision clarity, calm your mind and keep your stress level down.
Eye stretching works best when you relax. It is therefore importantto take a minute, close your eyes and remoisten your eyeballs before attempting any of these exercises. While your eyes are shut breathe in and out deeply as this will further prevent your eyes from becoming dry and has the added benefit of helping you relax. This is especially crucial if you work on a computer all day as you blink less when focusing your eyes on a digital screen.
The muscles around your eyes can be strengthened just like any other muscle in your body. To exercise your eyelids, squint for 10-15 seconds and try to stop your eyelids from trembling. It is important to focus your gaze on objects that are further away, always including a period of deep breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Hint: as you breathe in imagine the oxygen going up through your nose and straight to your eyes for an added effect.
Focusing for too long on things in your immediate short-distance vision, such as working on a laptop, can have negative effects on your vision that can cause near-point stress. Near-point stress has many symptoms such as eye strain, eyelid twitching, burning or watery eyes. It can also affect the ability to concentrate on work based on your near vision which includes reading, writing and computer work. Therefore, it is highly beneficial to your long term vision if you break up your work, and have periods where you can rest your eyes.
This will help you relax and rest your eyes. First thing you need to do is warm up your hands by rubbing them together or placing them under some warm water. Then place your hands on your face to make an upside down ‘V’ letter. One pinkie finger should be on top of the other and the base of the bottom pinkie should be on top of the bridge of your nose. Make sure you cannot see the light between your fingers, then close your eyes and breathe deeply, again in through your nose, out through your mouth, to really drive the point home.
The refocusing exercise is easy. Place one finger a couple of inches away from your eyes and focus on that finger with your vision. Slowly move the finger away from you, and change your focus to far off in the distance and then refocus your vision back onto your finger. Finally bring the finger back towards your face so it is only a couple of inches away from your eyes, then focus on something that is more than 8 feet away. Repeat this exercise three times for the best results.
Do you find you’re having eye problems at work? Have any of these eye exercises ever helped your vision? Comment below and feel free to share this articles if you enjoyed it!