How to Relieve Eye Strain--7 Easy Ways

If you are a person who works overtime a lot, can't seem to put down that suspenseful novel for hours on end, or the one who crunches all the numbers for your budgets and taxes, you could be suffering from eye strain. Overusing your eyes is the main cause of eye strain, so the easiest way to get relief is to rest them. That seems simple enough, but since the pace of life is so rapid and many of us tend to multitask and extend our working time beyond what is ideal for our eyes, they can become overworked. You may sometimes concentrate on one type of task, like working at the computer or reading, or even driving way too long. When you spend long hours at a task it's easy to get eye strain. Persistent eye strain leads to stretching your eye muscles and, while not realizing it, you forget to blink. Then your eyes become uncomfortable with redness, irritation, and dryness.

If your eyes are overworked, here are 7 simple ways to get relief and/or prevent eye strain:

1) Remember to blink a lot more. Make it a conscious effort to do so. This is soothing and causes your eyes to regain moisture.

2) Completely close your eyes for a few minutes at regular intervals. This will allow your eyes to refocus and ease the strain, according to Dr. Saxby.

3) Be sure your computer screen is not getting glare. This will help spare you eye strain.

4) Use rewetting drops. These can be purchased over the counter but would not include Murine or Visine, as these dry your eyes more in time because they are decongestants, according to Dr. Orengo-Nania.

5) Take frequent breaks. When doing close up work, like needlepoint, sewing, or working on the computer, take frequent breaks. About 6 minutes out of every hour is what my doctor recommends. After realizing I was experiencing eye strain, my eye doctor gave me a purple sticker to put on the corner of my computer screen with an eyeball on it and the phrases "Take a Break and Look away." That sounds silly, but it does work. You don't realize how consumed you can become with a task sometimes without giving your peepers a break. There is even software that you can download to give you visual messages to remind you to take these breaks for your eyes' sake like the one from RelaxMyEyes. "When it's time to take a break, it displays a discreet message on your computer screen so you could avoid eye strain..."

6) Massage your eyeballs. With your eyelids closed and head tilted downward, gently massage in a circular motion over the eyes. This tip is especially helpful for people who work on a computer and fail to get the breaks their eyes really need.

7) Do Eye Exercises. See the YouTube video below for some techniques used in natural eyecare.

These 7 easy methods of relieving eye strain, with its redness, dryness, and irritation caused by overworked eye muscles, are effective. If none of these simple tips seem to help relieve your eye strain, you will want to see an eye care professional because you might need glasses, a change in prescription, or have some other problem that needs further attention. Also, these tips do not replace any advice you might be given by your eye care professional.