Beating Eye Fatigue -with some really good ideas

 

The brain uses the most energy in our bodies, and within the brain, it is the eyes that drain our energy supply. In today’s world, screen time and Zoom calls have skyrocketed!  That intense unblinking focus for hours on end takes its toll on our brains, emotions, energy banks, and health.  Discovering your favorite ‘interrupt’ for your eyes could change the course of your day and the energy reserves you protect. Here are 4 Easy Interrupts to restore energy and support the eyes.  Play with them and find the one(s) you like the best. The BEST NEWS? They're EASY and they're FREE! Take eye breaks -  interrupt your day and reset your brain and eyes by doing them regularly. The results? Better focus and more energy! Blink Stare Switch Palm

First, we’re going to blink. You’ve been on the computer for a long time, one of the things that have been shown in research is that blink rates drop usually by over 50% when we’re watching a screen. In a natural environment, we’re probably blinking 14 to 16 times per minute.   If we’re looking at our iPad or watching TV, that usually drops to about four or six per minute, which means dry, burning, fatigued, tired eyes. How do you combat that?

Blink Interrupt About every 20-30 minutes take a Blink Break. Count to ten and blink as fast as you can. One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, one thousand five, one thousand six, one thousand seven, one thousand eight, one thousand nine, one thousand ten.  Blinking helps create a little bit more moisture in the eye and starts reducing some of the fatigue.

Staring Interrupt When you are on screen time, you stare at one place.  To interrupt, we change our stare - super simple.  If you’re in a room, pick a target that is as far away as possible. Ideally, you go to a window and look into the distance as far as possible. Some vision experts recommend that if you’re really trying to work on your distance vision, whatever you’re looking at should be at least 30 or 40 yards away. Stare at something in the distance for about 20 seconds.

Switch Interrupt In the switch interrupt we are going to switch our eyes from a close target to a far-away target. If possible be in front of a window.  Place your thumb about arm’s length out in front of your eyes.  Now switch from looking at your thumb to as far as comfortable into the distance on a target. When that distance target is in focus, switch back to your thumb.  When it is clear, switch to distance.  Repeat for 20-30 seconds.

Palm Interrupt This is one of my favorites.  Close your eyes and cup your palms over your eyes so that everything goes dark if you had your eyes open.  Relax your breathing. Hold the palms in place for 20-30 seconds or until there are no distractions as everything gets dark.  If it is easier, place your elbows on pillows on your desk to support your head while palming.   You don’t have to spend a lot of time on these interrupts. If you’re at work set a timer about every 20 minutes to 30. When it goes off, get up and go through this very rapid kind of relaxation sequence. These simple interrupts can save you a tremendous amount of eye fatigue throughout the day.