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Eyestrain is a common problem that most of us have experienced at least once. It is a well-known issue that mostly affects people working with video display terminals (VDTs).

Now, eyestrain means different things to different people. It can be experienced as burning, tightness, sharp pains, dull pains, watering, blurring, double vision, headaches, and other sensations, depending on the person. But as a rule of thumb, if you have any eye discomfort caused by viewing something, you can call it eyestrain.

Basically, eyestrain occurs when you over-use your eye muscles. Any muscle held in one position too long will strain – try to hold your left arm stretched horizontally for two hours and see what happens. When you concentrate on tasks such as reading, working at the computer or watching television for any length of time, your inner eye muscles tighten up causing your eyes to get irritated, dry and uncomfortable.

The problems generated by eyestrain are numerous. The effects of eye discomfort have a direct impact on productivity, and articles in the Journal of the American Optometric Association suggest that eye discomfort can decrease the productivity of an individual by 4 to 9 percent.

The pain generated by eye discomfort has been estimated to cost United States employers as over $61 billion per year – as much as 3.5 hours of productive time are lost each week.

Also, suffering from eyestrain has a big impact on the personal life of an individual, as it results in low morale and other related issues.

However, the solution to solving eyestrain is very simple!

Relaxation techniques are used for, obviously, relaxation. But studies have shown that very few people know how to rest and relax their eyes effectively.

Eye relaxation exercises offer relief for dry eyes, reduce computer eye strain and treat other eye strain symptoms.

9 tips and exercises to pamper your eyes

1. Palming. A neat little exercise; here’s how to do it: while sitting comfortably, gently cup the palms of the hands over the closed eyelids and attempt to see “perfect black” in order to give the mind and the visual system as much rest as possible. Keep the position for ten minutes. This exercise does wonders for me! The refreshing effects are close to those of a good night’s sleep.
2. In places where you spend lots of time, avoid direct glare. Direct glare involves a light source shining directly into the eyes - ceiling lights, task lights, or bright windows. To determine the degree of direct glare, you can temporarily shield your eyes with a hand and notice whether you feel immediate relief. If you do, change your position or try blocking the glare.
3. When working with VDTs like computer monitors, tune the contrast. The words and numbers on screen are formed by fuzzy beams of light that are much harder to read than print on a page. To minimize the strain on your eyes, set the monitor contrast knob on high.
4. Close your eyes. Shutting your eyes for a few minutes or even several seconds will refocus them and ease the strain.
5. Blink often. Try to blink at least twice every ten seconds. Blinking helps clean and moisten the eyes, and eases tight eye muscles (those appear as a result of gazing for too long).
6. Splash water on closed eyes. Sprinkle cold water from a running tap on the closed eyes for a few seconds and allow it to dry on its own.
7. Play the remembering game. During the palming exercise – described at point #1 – try, without doing too much effort, to remember an object or an event in as many details and colors as possible. Involving the visual memory in the palming exercise leads to a much clearer perception of the objects in the immediate reality.
8. Practice meditation. The body is a system that acts as a whole. Your eyes cannot relax if another part of your body is under pressure.
9. If you are *still* using a CRT screen… switch to an LCD or oLED screen. It makes a huge difference in terms of eye strain.

By keeping these things in mind and doing the palming exercise a few times every day, in less than two weeks you will experience an increased productivity, a clearer mind, a better mood, less headaches and your boss (if you have one) will be happier.

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