Two Steps to Relieve Eye Strain: Blink and Breathe

Have you ever had a headache or eye strain from staring at your computer for too long?   Me too.

The good news is, there is a really easy fix for this common workplace issue- breathing. (Yes, that’s right!)

Approximately every 20 minutes, take a break from your computer. Look away from the screen, close your eyes and take 5 deep breaths. (Really deep ones- down into your belly and through your lungs all the way to the top of your throat.) Notice how your eyes- the sockets, your eyebrows and the space between your eyebrows- relax a little more with each breath.

Feeling ambitious? Throw in an eye massage, detailed here by the Mayo Clinic, or even a forward fold. To forward fold, you can stand up or simply stay seated in your chair, soften your knees, hinge forward at your hips and let your head hang heavy. You can interlace your elbows and your wrists, too. Keep your shoulders and neck completely relaxed. Open and close your eyes and mouth a few times to stretch out your face, and then let your jaw relax. Take a few deep breaths here and notice your spine lengthen with each one.   Slowly roll yourself back to an upright position. (Hopefully you just got rid of your headache! You don’t want another one due to a head rush!)

Try these simple exercises throughout the day to not only relieve eye strain and tension headaches, but also to prevent them! Along with that, visit eyesafe to learn more about how to prevent the harmful effects of blue light.