Staring at screens all day can have a bigger impact on your eyes than you might think, and unlike any other part of our body, our eyes are somewhat neglected when it comes to relaxing and de-stressing.
So how can we rectify this? When we feel stressed, some of us pick up the yoga mat and tune into YouTube to unwind and relax our bodies. Which poses the question: Why don’t we consider yoga for our eyes?
So how can we rectify this? When we feel stressed, some of us pick up the yoga mat and tune into YouTube to unwind and relax our bodies. Which poses the question: Why don’t we consider yoga for our eyes?
some eye yoga exercises that will help reduce eye fatigue and strain while working from home.
- Palming:
Rub your palms together to create heat and place your hands over your eyes for 10 seconds. This will allow any tension accumulated in the back of your eyes to slowly decrease.
- Rapid Blinking:
Blink very fast for 10-15 seconds and then allow your eyes to close, settle, and soften. This exercise is particularly helpful for releasing your eyes from dryness and overuse.
- Eye-rolling:
Roll your eyes repeatedly clockwise and anti-clockwise. This is particularly good as it may help with strengthening your eye muscles and enhance the shape of both eyes.
- Zooming:
This exercise is great for focusing on and strengthening eye muscles. First, focus on an object in the distance and stay there for a few seconds. Second, move your focus onto an object closer to you and again, gaze at it for a few seconds. Third, move your focus to something close to you like your thumb. Finally reverse the gaze, starting from the middle object moving to the faraway one, and repeating these movements for a couple of minutes.
- Figure of Eight:
Raise your hand in front of you at eye level, extend your thumb, and focus on it while drawing a figure of eight shape in the air. After 30 seconds, switch directions.
“Based on my experience, I always recommend that people take regular breaks away from their screens whilst working from home. It is important to release the eyes not only from the blue light of digital devices but also from fatigue, which can be caused by the eye enduring high tension and strain from working with technology.
“Another great way to prevent eye fatigue is to follow the 20-20-20 rule, highly recommended by Optometrists and Opticians. This rule consists of looking at something 20 feet away, for a duration of 20 seconds for every 20 minutes spent staring at screens. It has been proved to be effective in helping to prevent digital eye strain.”
Prathima Kadari