Working on computers for long hours has almost become a norm for office goers in modern working life style. This causes eye strain that must be relieved to stay healthy. Other main eye straining activities include reading in low light, sitting in front of the TV screen for hours and sleep deprivation.
Strained eyes can lead to lack of focus, general fatigue, headache , neck and back pain. All these can easily be avoided by using natural methods to reduce eye strain and some home remedies for pain relief.
1. Look at a Distant Object
Drink some water and get back to work. Taking regular 5 minutes breaks will go a long way in not only reducing your eye strain but also improve overall well being.
2. Cold Water Splash
A cold water splash after a long strenuous exposure to TV or computer will relieve your eyes of the stain. The entire activity from getting up from your couch or chair and moving to washroom improves the blood circulation.
Cold water relaxes the muscles around the eyes. Close your eyes and splash water on your face and eyes. Splash it 5-6 times before drying your face with a towel.
You can also dip a cloth in cold water and put it on your closed eyes for relaxation.
3. Warm Compress
The objective here is same as above - improve blood circulation around the eyes. What cold compress does is done by hot compress also.
Dip a cloth in warm water and squeeze the water out by twisting and removing the water. The cloth is warm enough to provide desired heat. Put it on your closed eyes for 2 minutes ps so.
Do it 2-3 times a day to reduce strain on the eyes.
4. Eye Massage
Eye massages should be done with fingers. Apply coconut oil on both your index fingers and massage under and above each eye with circular movement of the index index finger on each side.
Both finger movements can be synchronized to give massage to eyebrows, eyelids and the socket below the eyes,
Rub both palms together to warm them up with friction. Close both eyes and put your palms above the eyes covering them but not touching them. open the eyes and make sure that darkness is maintained by the palms. You can't see anything. open and close eyes alternatively for a minute. in the last round close your eyes, remove your hand and slowly open your eyes to see the light.
Your eyes will feel much relaxed.
5. Use Artificial Tears
If your eyes remain lubricated, they will not strain. Buy any of the over the counter artificial tears drops and keep it handy when you are on a marathon computer exposure. Apply these drops every 30-40 minutes. One drop per eye usually is enough.
Make sure that the eye drops do not contain any preservative. If you have to use the eye drops with preservatives then use them only 3-4 times a day. You can use other methods to get relief from the eye strain.
The eye drops used for red eye reduction are also not suitable. So just use the right eye drops that produce artificial tears.