When you’re trying to do your best to focus at work but your eyes won’t let you, this could mean that you might be overworking them.
How our eyes suffer from cycbersickness
No, it’s not about being sick of having technology all around you but it’s actually more serious than that. Cybersickness is about constantly being exposed to a virtual environment to the point that we become nauseous, break into a cold sweat, or become disoriented. Yes, these symptoms are extreme but they do happen and you might be suffering from it.
Today, we live in a world with perpetual “noise”. We just can’t help to watch that captivating “pen-pineapple-apple-pen” video and then click on the next recommended one, and the next one, and the next… This habit of consuming media these days are weakening our eyes, so here are 6 exercises you can engage in to make those overworked eyes healthy again.
1. Palming Your Eyes
Palming your eyes is a great way to relax the muscles around your eyes to relieve stress. The best time to palm your eyes is when you’ve stared at the computer for longer than 90 minutes. To do this, follow these steps.
- Close your eyes.
- With both palms, gently press them against your eyes and your fingers on your forehead.
- Do this until your eyes are relaxed again.
2. Sideways View
Sideways viewing helps you to focus better by exercising those muscles that move your eyeball from side to side. To do this, stretch out both arms in front of you. Stick two thumbs up like you’re giving a two thumbs up to someone in front of you. Make sure there is space in between your arms.
- Firstly, look in front, then at your left thumb.
- Next, look in front again, then look at your right thumb.
- Repeat this for 10 to 20 times then close your eyes and rest.
3. Near and Distant
By now, you should understand that these exercises for the eyes are beneficial as it helps to relax the overworked eyes which are usually strained by our daily work and bad habits that hurt our eyesights. Like yoga, the near and distant viewing exercise helps relax the muscles to prevent disorders such as myopia or long sightedness. Here’s how you can do this.
- Sit near a window with far objects.
- Focus on the tip of your nose for about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Relax your eyes by looking at the far objects.
- Repeat for about 10 – 20 times.
- Rest your eyes after the exercise.
4. Figure 8
The figure 8 eye exercise might sound dizzying just by the thought of it, but it’s actually a great exercise when done slowly.
- Simply imagine a big Figure 8 in front of you.
- Now, place that figure 8 on its side and start tracing it with your eyes, slowly.
- Go one way for one minute, and then the other way for another minute.
5. Blinking
Most computer users blink lesser than recommended when they’re too focused on the job. In fact, by blinking, it keeps your eyes fresh with a short period of darkness and to give yourself that tiny boost of energy. Blinking helps you to refocus on the job and increases your concentration making you more productive. So, do make the conscious effort to blink when you’re concentrating on a serious task, it might do you better than you can imagine.
6. Zooming
Finally, there is no exercise better than the zooming exercise because it requires for your eyes to adjust its focal length which we hardly do when we’re in the office.
- The simple exercise can be done with an outstretched hand with your thumb up.
- While focusing on the outstretched thumb, bring the thumb closer to your eye, slowly until it is about 4 inches from your face.
- Now bring it back out slowly.
- Do this for a few minutes a day.
However, it is needless to say that by reducing your use of computers you will achieve better eyesight, as for instance, refraining from using your iPad when you’re supposed to rest on your off day. So, remember, by changing your lifestyle by a little, you can improve your health drastically.
